


To Riverdale and Back Again

by ajswan123



Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Character changes, Multi, No Incest, No Pedophilia, No murder, Non-Canon Relationship, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2019-08-07 22:59:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 30,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16417652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajswan123/pseuds/ajswan123
Summary: Growing up is hard. Growing up in the tiny town of Riverdale, New York might be even harder. In a town where almost everybody knows everyone else it can be hard to escape your past no matter how good or how bad. Follow these young teens as they navigate high school, romance, family problems and much more in a desperate struggle to grow up and move on beyond the bounds of Riverdale.Basically just a rewrite of the show in a way closer to how I would have done it, so be prepared for major changes.





	1. Veronica I

**Author's Note:**

> As it starts you'll notice that there aren't too many changes but as the story progresses there will be more differences. I'll try to update this weekly. Thank you for reading.

“This will be a good change for us.”

Veronica barely registered her mother’s words as she stared out at the endless expanse of maple trees that spread out before them. She could hardly believe that her mother was forcing them back to the tiny little town that she had grown up in rather than let them stay in the city. But now that everyone hated her father she guessed they didn’t have a choice.

No matter how hard she tried there were things that she couldn’t remember. Veronica didn’t remember the details of her father’s arrest. She couldn’t remember what she had been wearing, or had for breakfast that morning, and hardly remembered her mother’s harsh words to hide in her room. She couldn’t even remember how the tears had stung at her eyes as she watched her father being taken away through her seventh story window.

However, Veronica did remember going to school that Monday. The Elites, Spence’s cheerleading squad, were having a mandatory summer practice to get into shape for the new year. Kate Templeton was the head cheerleader but even she couldn’t get rid of Veronica without cause no matter what her dad had done. Veronica remembered that her mother had instructed her to remain confident and proud; they had needed to save face.

She remembered walking in and hearing Kate retelling the events that had transpired. Her voice had been high and loud, meant to carry, meant to make Veronica feel no bigger than a pea. Veronica had gritted her teeth and called Kate a bitch but apparently she wanted more than that from Veronica. Her voice had turned syrupy sweet saying all these terrible things, calling her father names that still rang in Veronica’s head.

Veronica squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the memory of what she had said to Kate. What she had done to her. That was more than cause to kick her off the squad. Her mother had told her to save face and she had done the exact opposite. No wonder she was whisking her away to Riverdale.

“How much longer? I’m tired of sitting here,” Veronica said leaning closer to the driver so he would answer instead of her mother. She didn’t feel like speaking to her just yet.

“Not long, maybe another twenty minutes, Miss Lodge.”

When the driver said her name there was no bitterness behind it. To him they weren’t Hiram Lodge’s family, the big business man who had screwed over dozens of people. They were just another pair of customers who had wanted a drive out of the city. Veronica couldn’t respect him enough for that.

She thought she heard her mother try to say something to her again but Veronica was in no mood to deal with her. So instead she decided this might just be a good time to pull out her phone. Hopefully it would make these next twenty minutes fly by.

No such luck, Veronica cringed upon opening up Instagram. The first post on her feed was of Kate Templeton, beautifully smiling, for all the world to see. The smile was distracting and almost, but not quite, subtracted from the leg that was very much in a cast. _I would like to thank everyone for their support_ the caption read and it made Veronica’s stomach roll. If she had known Kate was going to get so much attention for the injury Veronica never would have done it in the first place. She had wanted so desperately to wipe that annoyingly perky smile off the blonde’s face, but she could see now that it would never work.

Kate was a perfect diamond unlike Veronica who was a broken mirror, abandoned to avoid getting bad luck. She had to try really hard to avoid typing a bitchy comment under the picture. Instead Veronica just tapped it lightly adding her like to the three-hundred forty-two others. She could be the bigger person even if what she really wanted was for Kate to choke.

She scrolled past to see what else there was. Many of her closest friends, read: people sucking up to her because of the Lodge name, were posting pics of them at various parties. Bright, smiling, in tight clothes, in fabulous locations. Places she wouldn’t have been invited to even if she was staying in New York. No one was sucking up to the Lodge name now.

“Veronica, are you even listening to me?” That was _The_ Hermione Lodge voice, the one that said to listen to her now. Veronica fought the urge to roll her eyes but she knew that this would not be the right time.

“Yeah, Mom?”

She arched a perfect brow as she studied her daughter. Veronica wasn’t sure what her mother saw in that moment. The same girl who had a part in breaking Kate’s leg, the little girl whose hair she used to brush before bed, or her father’s daughter. Taking after him in so many more ways than one.

“Keep your chin up,” her mom hooked a finger under her chin and lifted Veronica’s head to look her right in the eyes. “We have to make a good impression. Lead by example, and don’t let anyone get to you.”

“Of course,” Veronica said with a nod. “I don’t want to disappoint you… or Daddy.”

Her mom’s smile was weak just a tiny twitch of her lips as she leaned back into her seat again. Veronica glanced back at her phone but decided against it and instead leaned closer to the window. It was still summer and so the autumn colors hadn’t yet taken over the trees, they were still vibrant and green. Almost inviting. If the rest of Riverdale was as inviting as the trees Veronica might be alright here.

The town was as small as she expected. A simple little town for simple little people. The exact sort of town that just might be forgiving enough for Veronica to settle here. Watching all the people walking down the streets and the little shops that had names all their own, not big brands like in New York it was strange to think that this town had had a hand in raising her parents. This is where they had started out young and simple before her father’s company had exploded.

And then collapsed into itself. Lodge Industries would never be able to reclaim its former glory as long as her dad remained in jail. But they were Lodges and nothing could bring them down, not if any of them could help it. Her father was bound to figure this out. He always did. She believed that he would be able to restore everything to the way that it was supposed to be.

The car stopped in front of a large brick building. Their new home, Pembrooke is what she remembered her mother calling it. It was far from what they had had back in New York but it wasn’t like some of the vanilla suburban houses that they passed on the way there so it couldn’t be all bad. Veronica would rather be dead than live in one of those plain little houses with the perfect little picket fences like with boring little people in them. There were parts of small town living that she was never going to get used to and that would have to be one of them.

“The gargoyles remind me of the Dakota,” Veronica said peering up at the apartment complex. She fingered her pearls, they reminded her of her father, they reminded her of home, they reminded her of everything she left behind.

Her mother placed a comforting hand on Veronica’s shoulder. “The same architect did this one but brace yourself. The apartment’s small, a pied-a-terre, but-”

“Quality, always,” Veronica chimed along with her mother. It was a simple thing but something her mother had always taught her to live by.

“And, it was the only piece of property in my name, not your father’s. So the courts couldn’t take it from us.” her mother said it a voice that was oh-so-comforting. Veronica didn’t want to think about the statement that they had been given that had evicted them from their house, _her_ house. Veronica just thought they were being mean at that point. “You’ll try to make it work here, won’t you?”

Veronica manages to muster up a smile, “I’ll… try, Mom. I promise.”

An older man came out of the apartment doors. He was wearing a classic doorman’s uniform and that provided a little comfort to Veronica. Maybe things wouldn’t be so different here after all. The man really lit up when he got closer to them.

“Ms. Hermione! Welcome home!”

A true smile came across her mother’s face as she allowed this old man to hug her. They looked like a pair of old friends that were suddenly transported to a different time before Hermione had even left Riverdale. “Smithers! Oh, you are a sight for sore eyes.

“How was the ride?” he asked warmly.

“No traffic, thank God. Smithers, I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Veronica.” She stepped out of the way so that Veronica could face the man. He gave her a warm smile too, not as if they were meeting for the first time but like they had known each other all their lives. Veronica wondered of everyone in Riverdale was like this.

“It’s a pleasure, miss.” He shook her hand in a strong, firm grip.

“Hi,” Veronica managed to say.

“I’ll get the bags.”

“Would you?” Her mother sounded so relieved. Tired. She didn’t want to do much more than go up to the apartment, Veronica could relate. She felt as if the past week had been the most stressful experience of her entire life and going up to her new room might be a big relief after the long car ride. A nice soft bed was all she really needed.

“Oh, and would you like some menus, ma’am, so you can order in?”

“Oh, no. I have been craving one of Pop Tate’s cheeseburgers since noon.” She clasped her hands together and took a deep breath as if breathing in the very essence of a burger. Veronica wasn’t sure if she had ever seen her mother eat a burger before. It was a strange thought. “Is his diner’s still open, I pray?

“Diner?” Veronica said bluntly wrinkling her nose. That was just another small town thing that they definitely didn’t have much of in New York, or if they had Veronica had definitely never been to one. It was more something out of a novel or a movie. She wasn’t even sure of this place was actually weird or if New York was just so much of who she had become that everything else was impossible to comprehend in experience.

“I can assure you, mija, you’ll love it.” Her mom smiled but Veronica wasn’t so sure.


	2. Betty I

Betty curled herself up tighter in her bed hoping that maybe if she pretended not to be worried about getting a text it would come faster. It didn’t seem to be working. She tapped her phone and the screen lit up, but there was still no text from Archie.

Archie Andrews was the boy next door both literally and figuratively. He and Betty had lived next door to each other all their lives. Archie was a golden boy, sweet and caring. He was the epitome of the small town values that a place like Riverdale had to offer. Polite and unassuming Betty knew that he was the perfect guy for her if only he could figure out that she was right for him.

Betty heard her bedroom door swing open. She didn’t move just in case it was her mom who was only going to harass her for not doing anything productive as if it still wasn’t summer break and school didn’t start until tomorrow. If she thought that Betty was sleeping she would wait until later to bring up all of her shortcomings.

“You know when you wanted my help I didn’t think it would be so dire.”

Betty found herself smiling and sat up to face Kevin Keller one of her best friends and all-time favorite people. He sat down on the bed next to her making the whole frame shake.

“Do I look that bad?” Betty brushed loose blonde hairs out of her face; her ponytail was clearly no longer so immaculately done. She would have to fix it before going out with Archie. That was if she ever went out with Archie as he had yet to text her back.

Kevin arched an eyebrow at her, “Um, you’re only wearing a lacy pink bra and jeans so I’m going to go with yeah.”

Kevin was the only guy that Betty would ever allow to see her like this. Maybe it was the fact that they were so close or maybe it also had to do with the same reason he was the only guy Betty was allowed to have in her room with the door closed. He was gay. Betty groaned and fell back into the bed. She grabbed one of her pillows and slammed it onto her face.

Kevin poked her in the side, “You’re never going to be ready for your date with Archie if you keep moping around.”

“It’s not a date,” Betty mumbled under the pillow.

Kevin hummed a little and although she couldn’t see him she knew that he was rolling his eyes. It was an unadulteratedly Kevin thing and Betty would have expected nothing less. Maybe Betty should have asked her sister, Polly, to help her on her ‘not date’ with Archie. But Polly was busy having friends and going out and having a life of her own. Betty wasn’t really bitter; Polly deserved to go hang out with her friends just like Betty hung out with hers.

Betty pulled the pillow from her face, “are you gonna help me or not?”

The shaking of his head was to be expected as Kevin stood up. He wrapped his hands around hers and helped to pull her up until she was standing. Betty plucked her phone up off the bed and all but shoved it at Kevin.

“Tell me if he texts back.”

Kevin gives a mocking bow, “I’m at your service Princess.”

“Very funny, Kev,” Betty half hugs herself. Trying to find a form of comfort, sometimes just thinking about things progressing could get a bit awkward as if she was never really sure what she wanted. But she did, didn’t she? Of course, it was all that she had ever wanted. There was no time to back out now.

“Hey, as your wingman I should be able to make light of the fact that you have been dedicatedly obsessed with resident wonder boy Archie Andrews ever since you six and he kissed you on the slide.”

“It was the swing-set but close enough.” Betty sat at her vanity and stared at her four shades of Alice Cooper approved lipsticks. Nothing bold or overdramatic. Nothing that would make her seem older or more mature when she was going to be around Archie. She knew Polly might have something in her room but if her mother found out she had gone to Polly for lipstick she would have both of their heads.

She frowns at her reflection in the mirror. She had forgotten how young she really looked. It might seem strange for her to have forgotten her own looks but spending the summer at an internship in L.A. had done that to her. Because in L.A. she hadn’t been treated like another kid. She was someone who was smart and capable and able to do all of the things that they had asked of her.

The summer had been magical but now she was back in Riverdale. Boring, simple Riverdale where nothing even the slightest noteworthy happened. Betty couldn’t wait for the year until she graduated and was off to college and never having to look at this town again. Even if it meant leaving a few people behind. Her eyes darted back towards Kevin. He was lying on her bed looking at his own phone but glanced across at hers when she looked back.

“Nothing,” Kevin replies and continues typing on his phone. “Are you excited or nervous?”

“Neither, or both,” Betty chewed at her lip. “I don’t know.”

Betty grabbed a brush and began working it through her hair. She always felt a little bit better if she was doing something with her hands. Her mom always used to tell Betty and Polly some quote about idle hands being the work of the devil. Betty wasn’t sure if it had just stuck or whether her anxiousness dictated she do something.

“Sometimes I don’t get it,” Kevin said. “You’ve known Archie forever; you’ve probably shared every secret you have ever had with him but when it comes to this… you freeze up.”

Kevin had made a point of this before. Betty wasn’t sure why she felt so protective of this secret. Was it just the natural feelings of having a crush, of fearing rejection and not wanting to change everything she had with Archie? It was safe, they had been friends since birth practically and something like this could change everything. Archie was safe and she shouldn’t be afraid but Betty wanted things to be as normal and simple as possible.

“It’s time. Your parents want to micromanage every aspect of your life? Fine, but not who you date – there are limits, Betty. Post L.A., you’re in your Place of Power.” Kevin emphasized ‘power’ with a tweak of his brow. “You like him, he likes you, it’s what needs to happen. Cosmically.”

When Kevin said things it just sounded so practical so reasonable _. Like of course it would work out that way. Why wouldn’t it Elizabeth?_ There was a confidence to Kevin that Betty sorely lacked. She wished that she could borrow just an ounce of it tonight. She also wished the Archie would hurry up and text her back already.

“Why hasn’t he ever said or done anything before?” Betty pointed out a little more sharply than she had intended to. “You know if he’s supposed to be in love with me?”

“Because Archie’s _swell_ , but like most Millennial straight guys, he needs to be told what he wants. So tell him, finally.

“We’ll see.”

Betty still wasn’t sure. She turned back to her mirror and pondered over which shade of baby pink lipstick, so light she might as well not be wearing any, should she try on. She held up a tube of ‘Pink Lemonade’ but caught Kevin frowning in the mirror and put it back down. Preparing for this ‘not date’ was turning out to be harder than she originally planned. But this was what girls always did before confessing to their crush in movies and stuff, so Betty just had to be prepared too.

“Coming out now,” Kevin read from her phone in his honestly poor imitation of Archie’s voice. It was had a classic small town twang to it that was fit much more for the south than any part of Riverdale. Betty hopped up from her seat and smoothed out her hair one last time and bounded over to her closet. She wanted something that screamed that she was prepared to move forward in her life with Archie.

“Whoa. Someone grew,” Betty whipped around at the teasing edge to Kevin’s voice. He was no longer draped across her bed but peering out the window. The window that was directly across from Archie’s bedroom. There could only be one thing that he was looking at.

“What?” Betty couldn’t help smacking her shin against her bed post as she hurried over to see what Kevin saw.

She got a perfect view of Archie’s shirtless physique before he pulled on a t-shirt to head out the door. He did look older. Betty found herself wishing that her mother wasn’t quite so overprotective so that she wouldn’t look like she was a child when she was on her ‘not date’ with Archie. How would she ever come up with an outfit that could compete with Archie’s complete and total summer makeover? Betty started pulling at the end of her ponytail; she couldn’t get herself to stop.

“He has abs now,” Kevin stated the obvious cocking his head to the side as he studied Archie. The boy was completely oblivious to their watchful eyes as he left the room.

Betty turned crossing her arms over her, still bare, chest and crumpled into her window seat. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She had planned out how she would see Archie again for the past week and he wasn’t supposed to have grown up on her in the process. It wasn’t right or fair. Betty started chewing at her lip again, or maybe she was the one who was being unfair.

“Betty,” Kevin said sitting next to her.

“I’m not so sure about this anymore.”

Kevin gave her his practically patented Kevin look. The one that had ‘are you shitting me’ written all over it, and it didn’t make Betty feel any better. But she knew that wasn’t really Kevin’s fault. In fact if he wasn’t here she would still be curled up in bed worrying instead of actually trying to do something.

“You saw that,” Betty said almost whining. “And everyone else will too. Everyone’s gonna see what I’ve been seeing my entire life.”

“All the more reason for you to take ginger bull by the horns tonight.”

Kevin stood up and ran a hand through his hair. He looked calm and collected and so unlike Betty in that moment. She could imagine that if he was ever in her situation he would have already long since admitted to Archie exactly how he felt. Betty was glad that he was around as she really needed someone to push her out of her comfort zone.

“Ok, ok, you’re right,” Betty stood up. She could do this, and if she could do this then she could do anything. She was Betty Cooper after all, and even if she was only fifteen she had learned a lot while in L.A.; she could take Riverdale by storm. She wasn’t going to back away from this because she was a little scared.

“I can do this.”

“Mind doing it with a shirt on,” Kevin said.

Betty looked down at her lacy pink bra. He was right, she still hadn’t chosen a shirt to put on. She tore through her closet pulling out cardigans and t-shirts and sweaters. Why did her closet look so much like a middle aged soccer mom’s? She really needed to go shopping. Finally she settled on a light blue layered tank that she was absolutely sure that she had never worn before. She checked her hair in the mirror one last time and without looking picked up a tube of lipstick.

“What do you think?” Betty turned back to Kevin.

He gave a nod, “the blue brings out your eyes.”

“Good, good. I’m gonna go and you should too,” Betty said slipping into a pair of gold sandals. “What could you possibly have to do around here without me?”

“I could always make friends with Alice,” Kevin said with a wicked smile like the Cheshire cat if it was about to devour a mouse. It was finally Betty’s turn to roll her eyes at him as she plucked her phone from his hands.

“Don’t ever let her hear you call her that.”

Kevin laughed tossing back his head, “Please, it’ll be fine. Now hurry up you don’t want to leave Archie waiting.”

She sailed down the stairs and crashed right into her mother. Betty had to hold back a groan, how could she be so stupid as to forget that her mother would ask her a billion and one questions on where she was going. Her mother grabbed Betty’s arm before she had a chance to dart away without a barrage of questions. She narrowed her eyes, the frosty blue orbs studying Betty. All but freezing her in place.

“Where are you going wearing lipstick?” Her mother’s words were curt, blunt, and straight to the point. She had no time to play any game with Betty tonight. “Those are only supposed to be for special occasions.”

“How do you know this isn’t a special occasion?”

Her mother pulled back crossing her arms over her chest. The frown she had on her face was unmoving as she continued to stare Betty down. “Because you’re headed out to meet with Archie Andrews, and honestly there isn’t much special in that.”

“There is to me.”

Betty didn’t give her mother a chance to reply to that. She was out the door in an instant and grabbed her old pink bike that had used to be Polly’s but she had gotten for her eighth birthday. The handles were worn and faded and the seat still needed to be fixed but as Betty rode to Pop’s she felt comforted as if her sister was right there beside her giving her support. That feeling gave Betty a little more strength to peddle on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice that Polly is actually mentioned as living in the Cooper house at this point; there will be more of her later. I also haven't decided if I'm going to tag ships yet but most aren't gonna be canon so if you like canon ships this might not be the place for you. Thank you for reading.


	3. Archie I

Archie slurped up his vanilla milkshake and watched as Betty tapped her nails against the table and completely ignored her own milkshake. It was strawberry, her favorite. Or last least he had thought that it was her favorite but ever since she had gotten there she had all but ignored the milkshake he had ordered for her. Was life in L.A. so different that Betty Cooper no longer liked strawberry milkshakes? Archie couldn’t believe that.

“So, what was the highlight?”

“Of my internship?” Betty perked up at that, her bright blue eyes landing on him. Finally she stopped tapping her fingers against the table. Good, the sound had been beginning to get on his nerves. “It had to be the Toni Morrison book release party I organized, by far. At the end of the night, Toni Morrison, who is, as you know, my literary hero, says to me...”

“Yeah?” Archie encouraged her to continue.

Betty leans back in her seat with a smile on her face as she remembers the events of her summer. A summer that was far more interesting than his no doubt. He hadn’t done anything that could be worthy of report. God, how boring his summer would be to Betty. There was nothing happening in Riverdale, as per usual.

Betty looks at him again smiling so sweetly, “‘don’t rush this time, Betty. It goes by so fast at your age. One summer can change everything.’”

“That’s so true,” Archie said. It really did seem to be that way for Betty. For Archie he was still trying to figure out exactly what was changing for him if everything. Or would he always be in that small town living the same life.

“It was everything.” Betty said with a deep sigh her eyes going starry again as she dreamed of a world beyond Riverdale, a place that she might actually achieve something. “And I may not have gone to L.A. if you hadn’t encouraged me, Archie, so thanks. You always believe in me...”

It hangs there for a moment. And it seems like for the first time that whole night Betty is truly looking at him. Her smile is surprisingly tentative as if they were just meeting for the first time ever instead of the first time in two months. And it wasn’t like they hadn’t talked to each other at all that summer they had. It was just they hadn’t looked right into each other’s faces since June. A strange thought for two people who had known each other all their lives were practically inseparable.

“How was working for your dad?” Betty said finally and started drinking from her milkshake; maybe she still did like strawberry after all.

“It was... pouring concrete, literally every day, all day long.” Archie honestly thought that he would have died of boredom at some point of the summer; and he hadn’t even had Jughead to hang out with anymore. And Reggie had been off playing golf at some country club with his dad. “So to pass the time… okay, do you remember in 5th-grade? My mom and dad gave me that guitar for my birthday and I made us all play Rock Band?”

Betty nods. The smile clear on her face as she had to be remembering beating him nearly a dozen times so they had to stop playing in order to keep the peace. She hadn’t really minded all that much. Archie didn’t think guitar was really her thing, no, winning was though. Betty liked to win, that was just the way that she had been brought up. He doubted Mrs. Cooper would accept anything else.

“Anyway, to pass the time at work, I started composing these... poems, in my head. Then, at night, I’d get home, and I’d write them down.”

Betty chuckled a playful smirk coming onto her lips, “You don't even like _reading_ poetry.”

That was very true. He could hardly pay attention in class when it came to stuff like that. He just thought that some of the poetry had a tendency to be a bit emo and edgy as if the writer was trying too hard. He had always felt bored by it, but his writing felt different. It didn’t just feel like regular old, boring ass poetry to him. There was something deeper it felt like he was finding a way to describe his place in the world.

Archie scratched at the back of his neck. He almost couldn’t believe that he was telling anyone this. Even if it was just Betty. Betty Cooper his best friend since forever who he could basically trust with anything. She would never mock him and his interests at least he hoped that she wouldn’t.

“They weren’t poems, they were song lyrics. And working on them made me feel like...”

“What, Archie?” Betty inched forward in her seat. Her blue eyes pleading with him to continue, and Archie had to listen to them. There were no secrets between him in Betty and he didn’t want to be start keeping any.

“I don’t want to pour concrete for the rest of my life, Betty. Or whatever my dad’s, like, grooming me to do. Manage the guys who pour the concrete,” the words flowed out of Archie. He needed to tell someone what he had been keeping locked away all summer. “Writing made me feel like I’d finally broken through to something real, you know? About my life and what I should be trying to do with it. It’s music. Starting this year, tomorrow.”

“That’s amazing,” Betty’s smile helped to calm Archie. He had felt like his heart had been racing a mile a minute desperate to tell her and not be told that it was a waste of time. That it didn’t matter. That was no doubt going to be the response he would get if he told his father. What was music going to do for him than leave him poor and alone on the streets with nothing but a guitar?

“What about football? Can you do both?”

Archie flinched. And there it was the dreaded question the one he had hoped that she wouldn’t ask. But Betty was aware of everything and there was no way that he could have kept that problem out of her grasp. She looked at him patiently awaiting an answer that Archie wasn’t entirely sure how to give.

“I-I’ll tryout, at least.”

“Have you told your dad?” Betty dipped her head to the side. She looked as if she already knew the answer to that and was simply asking out of common courtesy because it would have been expected of her to ask. He knew that his dad wasn’t anywhere near as strict with his life as Betty’s mom was with hers but no child wanted to disappoint their parent.

“No. Until I’ve got it more figured out, you’re the only person I’m telling.”

“Oh,” that is all Betty can say for a moment. She sips at her milkshake again and for just a brief second Archie thinks that her face is almost the same color as the shake. But then she looks up again, unbothered. “Can I hear them sometime? Your songs?”

“Really?” Archie couldn’t believe his ears but Betty nodded and smiled encouragingly at him and he knew that she meant it.

“Yeah.”

“Well, um, I’m finishing some demos tonight.” Archie nodded and wiped his hands on his pants. He couldn’t believe how nervous he had been they felt so sweaty and clammy. He took another sip of his almost empty milkshake for a chance to calm his nerves. It was cool and soothing; he needed that.

“Archie.” The way Betty said that was weird, there was almost a pleading sound to it. He looked up from his drink to find her chewing nervously at her lip. “I’ve been thinking about us, Archie, and our friendship, and how it’s time we–”

The bell to Pop’s rang out and Archie’s gaze left Betty’s to see who was walking into Pop’s. And the thing was he had absolutely no idea who the person was, even after living in Riverdale all his life he was sure that he had never seen her before. His gaze drifted over the girl. Yeah, he was sure that he would remember if he had ever seen her before. She was utterly breathtaking. And walking towards them. Well maybe not towards them but rather the stretch of counter that was near them.

Betty shifted in her seat to see the girl and frowned. Slowly her gaze drifted back to Archie but he was hardly paying attention to her anymore. He was wondering who exactly the new girl was that stood at the counter at Pop’s. Her voice was low and warm as she spoke calling in an order under the name of ‘Lodge’. That namely sounded familiar to Archie but he wasn’t sure why.

“Almost ready, you’ll just gotta wait a minute,” Pop Tate told her and the Lodge girl nodded.

She turned out towards the patrons of the Chock’lit shop and it didn’t even appear that she noticed Archie at first. Her eyes were dark and it was hard to see anything in them as she analyzed the people there. In that moment the girl was the queen of her own dominion as she judged whether anyone there was worthy or her time. A look of placid disinterest remained on her face until her eyes met Archie’s. That was when she smiled.

That was also when Betty kicked him in the leg. She was glaring at him although he couldn’t figure out why. She had been saying something before the dark haired girl had entered but he could hardly remembered what it was now. He looked up again to see that the girl was approaching them.

“Are the onion rings around here any good?”

Betty rolled her eyes at the girl but Archie ignored her and turned to the pretty dark haired girl who was looking at him. Really looking, and smiling. She had a nice smile, it showed off her perfectly aligned teeth.

“Addictive, they’re so good,” He said that with way too much energy was his first thought after the words had left his mouth. But the girl didn’t notice, she just turned over her shoulder and asked Pop if he could add an order onion rings for her.

“Thanks,” she said. “My mom and I just moved here so…”

“Well, welcome to Riverdale,” Archie tried for his most charming smile. He was sure that he saw Betty almost gag but he decided to ignore her. “Where are you from?”

“New York,” she said it lightly, too lightly. Like she didn’t want anyone to realize just how much she was attached to the place. Archie could imagine, he couldn’t believe that someone who had lived in one of the biggest cities in the country would ever want to move to Riverdale. “Do you guys go to Riverdale High?”

“We do. Both of us. Together.” Betty was quick, her voice sounding sharp. She didn’t want the girl there but Archie couldn’t comprehend why.

“We’re sophomores,” Archie said trying to sound much more inviting than Betty. He didn’t want her to scare the new girl off, not before he even got the chance to learn her name. “I’m Archie Andrews, and this is Betty Cooper.”

“Veronica,” she said quickly as if she had been waiting for a chance to say, and then a bit more hesitantly like the mere thought of it was pulling teeth. “Lodge.”

Betty made a little squeaking sound and he knew that she must have recognized the name and he thought he should have too. But Archie was still unsure of why that would have been relevant. It was clear from the way she walked and dressed that her family had money. Maybe she was someone that was always featured in magazines or something. Maybe Betty had mentioned the name before. He couldn’t quite place his finger on it.

“I’m your peer mentor,” Betty said. “I’ll be giving you a tour tomorrow.”

“That’s cool,” Veronica said. It wasn’t clear if she really believe that or not.

“Do you want to join us?” Archie finds himself saying despite Betty’s absolutely scandalized look. He doesn’t get how she could be acting like this. Veronica was perfectly nice, and incredibly pretty, how could she not want to spend time with the girl.

Veronica frowned and shook her head her eyes lifting to look out the window. “Sorry, can’t. My mom is waiting for me.”

Oh, Archie thought. He wasn’t quite sure how to let this conversation to end. Even though they might see each other in school again tomorrow he didn’t want Veronica to leave right now. How likely were the chances that they would have a class tomorrow even in a school as small as Riverdale High? Actually pretty good but Archie still didn’t want her to leave.

“I guess we’ll see you tomorrow,” Betty said. It was her way of saying goodbye Archie thought.

“Yeah,” Veronica smiled, her eyes drifting from Betty to Archie. There was an undefinable light to them that was more than just a reflection of the overhead lights. “I look forward to that.”


	4. Veroinca II

Betty looked just as unassumingly blonde as she had the day before; dressed in a pale pink sweater and jeans. She gave off a general air of small town politeness but Veronica hadn’t missed the way she had acted towards her yesterday when they met at Pop’s. Betty had seemed more than a little annoyed, both at Veronica but also at the adorable red headed boy that she had been sitting with.

Archie. Now that was not a name you heard much of in New York. Old fashioned for sure. Nothing at all like the people that Veronica had known before. Old fashioned might have been another curse word unless it had meant vintage and then it was all the rage. But Archie wasn’t someone’s mom’s old skirt from the nineties. He was a person and therefore worth much more than that, not that many people would have been able to see it.

“…school was built in 1941-”

“And hasn’t decorated since apparently,” Veronica said peering around at the school around her. Her private school had been even older but somehow despite the obviously old building the school managed to look centuries newer than Riverdale High. What was with these people and their dedication to looking as if it had stepped out of a fifties horror movie. There was an unsettling edge to almost everything.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m wandering through the lost epilogue of Our Town.”

That earned Veronica a little chuckle from Betty. Perhaps the blonde girl wasn’t so bad after all.

“Yeah… Riverdale really does have that classic small town feel to it,” Betty said.

“You’re telling me. But seriously though what’s the social scene like around here? Any clubs?” Veronica doubted that would very likely but that didn’t mean there was nothing. Even people in Riverdale had to find a way to entertain themselves.

“A strip club called the Ho Zone and a tragic gay bar called Innuendo.” Veronica and Betty both turned to see a brunette boy approaching them. A sigh of relief seemed to go through Betty when she saw the boy. “Friday nights, football games and then tailgate parties at the Walmart parking lot. Saturday night is movie night, regardless of what’s playing at the Bijou, and you better get there early, because we don't have reserved seating in Riverdale. And Sunday nights, thank God for HBO.”

Betty placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “Veronica Lodge, Kevin Keller. Veronica's new here. Kevin is-”

“-gay, thank God. Let’s be best friends.” Veronica held her hand out to Kevin; he had a sort of amused smile in his face as he accepted her outstretched hand. What she didn’t say out loud was the real reason she was glad he was gay; Riverdale was a small town and she couldn’t be sure how accepting they would be of someone who wasn’t entirely straight. Having an ally when it came down to it would be a comfort.

He leaned in whispering in a conspiratory tone. “Is it true what they say about your dad?”

“That he’s the devil incarnate?” Veronica knew that her voice must have come out pretty sharp as Kevin recoiled harshly at her words. Betty shifted uncomfortably as she avoided looking at either of them in that moment. “I stand by my father. Does everyone here know?”

Betty and Kevin shared a look between the both of them. They didn’t really need to say anything else, it would have been unnecessary. Veronica already knew exactly what she needed to just from that look. Her mom had been completely wrong in whatever her original plan was to get away as news spread like wild fire and she wasn’t going to escape.

“Wonderful. I already have a target painted on my chest and it’s my first day,” she stalked off not wanting to be bothered at the moment.

Veronica couldn’t believe this. They were supposed to move to Riverdale to escape everyone and their stares and mocking. Riverdale was supposed to be reprieve from all of that but it was just more of the same. No matter where she went people’s thoughts on what her dad may or may not have done was always going to follow her.

“Veronica, wait.” That was Betty, she was hurrying after her. Veronica hesitated not sure if she wanted to walk away from them yet or not but one thing was for sure she had no idea where she was going and would need one of them to point the way. The school might not have been that big but you could still get lost.

“Listen Betty you have been very nice so far but I would like to be alone.”

“Um, well I’m not sure that’s a… good idea,” Betty stumbled over her words. “I’m supposed to be looking out for you and making sure you’re ok.”

“Besides we should totally talk about the Back-to-School semiformal this weekend,” Kevin said coming up beside Betty.

He vaguely gestured behind Veronica but his gaze never left Betty. Apparently this was very much something that he wanted her to look at. Betty crossed her arms, looking awkward and out of place as she gazed behind Veronica. The curiosity was eating away at her; she turned around too

“Oh,” she said seeing the red headed cutie from the night before. “That’s Archie, the boy you were with last night. Is he your boyfriend?”

Betty’s eyes widened and she shook her head, “we’re just friends.”

Her words were perfectly timed with Kevin’s as he said, “No, he’s straight.” Betty fixed him with an incredulous look but Kevin smirked at her and she punched him in the arm. Kevin wasn’t really bothered as he turned back to gaze at Archie Andrews.

“In that case, mind putting in a word? I’ve tried every flavor but orange.”

When Veronica turned around again Betty looked as if she had swallowed something quite vile and was only just now beginning to get used to the flavor. Veronica frowned at Kevin who just shook his head in response; he seemed very used to these kinds of reactions from Betty. Veronica wasn’t really sure what to make of the blonde girl.

Kevin cleared his throat, “Actually, to clarify... Betty and Archie aren’t dating, but we’re hoping they soon will be. We’re working on it.”

“You should ask him to the semiformal then.” Veronica offered up which earned her such a shocked look from Betty. She finally realized that this was why Betty had acted so odd last night at Pop’s, jealousy. Veronica couldn’t blame her though if a strange girl came over and started flirting with her crush she’d be miffed to.

“I’ve been trying to convince her too but Betty is too scared to do it,” Kevin said.

“I am not.” Betty said, crossing her arms. The blonde ponytail and the way she almost pouted as she frowned made her look like a child; less like a fifteen year and closer to seven or eight. Betty would have made an adorable toddler.

“That’s what you always say.” Kevin drawled.

“Come on,” Betty gestured for Veronica to follow after her. Betty led the way as both Veronica and Kevin scrambled to follow after her. She didn’t look like she was stopping at any moment. “You should probably be getting to class.”

“You know my classes?”

Betty nodded not turning around to face her. “Weatherbee already gave me a copy of your schedule so I know what class you should be getting to.”

Any bit of Betty’s former warmth seemed to have evaporated. Veronica could tell that she wasn’t upset with her but it still made her uncomfortable. Kevin eventually gave his goodbyes and disappeared and left off in a different direction so that he could get to his class on time. Veronica almost asked him to stay behind so that she didn’t have to deal with an annoyed Betty but she decided against it.

“I’m sorry,” Betty said suddenly rubbing her hands together. “Sometimes I just get upset about certain things.”

“Does Kevin do that a lot?” Veronica said. “Tease you?”

Betty laugh, “yeah, he’s the closet thing I have to a brother. I mean I’m really close with Archie but it just isn’t the same… well I hope you have a good rest of your day.”

Yeah I hope so too, Veronica thought to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I made Veronica queer but her exact sexuality won't be revealed until later. Anyways thanks for reading. I'm having a lot of fun working on this so I hope that you guys are enjoying it.


	5. Archie II

Archie strummed the strings of his guitar lazily, hardly thinking to put much more than a few chords together. It wasn’t supposed to be anything special just a chance for some practice that he might not be able to get at home. Archie ran his hand over the strings again trying for something a little showier; if this was ever going to be a bigger part of his life he would need to get better than the beginner tutorial videos he had watched all summer.

He looked back up to the notebook he had placed on the music stand next to him and began to play. And technically Archie should not have been in the music room using one the music stands to support his writing journal while he play one of his songs, but everyone was at lunch currently and that would give Archie a little time to practice.

_“Can you hear me?_

_Am I drowned out in the crowd? Are you listening?_

_Or is everyone else too loud for you to hear anything_

_Are you just gonna walk away?_

_Cause there are so many things I can do but instead I'll say”_

Archie wasn’t really sure if he liked the song yet or not. There was something to it but he needed to fix it up edit it before-

“You know when I come to the music room I expect music not racket.”

Archie shot up almost knocking over the music stand. He managed to keep it from toppling over but the notebook still went tumbling to the ground. The old weathered hand of Riverdale High’s music teacher, and grumpy crone, Miss Grundy picked it up. Her lips pressed into a thin, firm line as she studied the book that she now held in her hand. Archie held his breath as he waited for what Miss Grundy might do now.

“You want to be a songwriter,” Miss Grundy said, but it wasn’t a question. “If you want to get anywhere you’ll need to be better than that.”

Archie snatched the journal from her outstretched hand, and shoved it back into his bag while also hurrying to pack up his guitar. He needed to get out of there; he wasn’t supposed to be seen by anyone let alone Miss Grundy. Archie didn’t even want to know what she had thought of his songs.

“You could have potential, Mr. Andrews, if you had proper training,” Miss Grundy said turning back to take a seat at her desk. “My office is always open.”

“I-I think I’m good for now.” There was no way in hell that Archie would ever take lessons from Miss Grundy. They say if you can’t do teach and there was no way that that wasn’t the case with Miss Grundy. And even if she was any good, her legendary bitterness and overbearingly feeling of evil that surrounded her would keep Archie far away. In fact he thought of someone else that might be able to help him out.

Everyone knew that Josie and the Pussycats had special permission to rehearse in the school’s practice rooms. Everyone knew that Josie and the Pussycats practiced during lunch hours. And everyone also knew that Josie and the Pussycats did not have open rehearsals that anyone could just walk into. So why on earth was Archie standing in the doorway of the practice room watching them?

“Um, this is a closed practice,” Josie’s voice came out sharp and harsh. She glared at where Archie stood in the doorway her dark eyes narrowing at him.

“Uh, sorry, I… Josie, right?”

 Josie rolls her eyes and looks back at one of the other girls sitting next to a keyboard. It was a ‘can you believe this guy’ look, which annoyed Archie a little but the other girl covered her mouth as she stifled a laugh. Archie recognized her, but in a more in a he had seen her in passing sort of way. She was pretty, he wondered if they had ever had a class together.

“Do I even know you?” Josie had finally turned back to him and she still looked upset. This was _not_ the sort of impression he had been meaning to make with her. Josie and the Pussycats were an icon around Riverdale even if the cat ears they typically wore were a bit ridiculous.

“His name’s Archie Andrews,” the keyboardist smiles broadly. “He was in my Geometry class last year. I’m Valerie Brown, by the way. This is Melody Valentine.”

The drummer waves without ever dropping her drumsticks, she’s not particularly interested in Archie. She just twirls her drumsticks impatiently as she waits for Josie to start up practice again. Archie bounces a little on his heels, why on earth was he here. He was smarter than this, he really was, how could he think approaching the Pussycats was a good way to jump start his career.

“Hi,” Archie smiles at the pair before turning back to Josie. “Could I talk to you about some songs that I wrote? I thought that maybe you would consider recording one or two for your-”

“Ok, I’m going to stop you right there, Archie, was it? First of all you’re staring at the pussycat ears, which is rude, but just let me break it, and them, down for you.” Josie stepped forward, she was all in control and there was no way that Archie would be able to say anything. Even if he wanted to, which he didn’t because it that moment he was more than a little bit scared. “The Pussycats are building a brand, we’re telling a story. Last year, we won Rockland County’s Battle of the Bands-”

“I know, I was there, you were-” before he can get the word ‘amazing’ out of his mouth Josie interrupts.

“Yes, we were,” her briskness was beginning to get rolled eyes from the keyboardist, Valerie. But Josie didn’t look like she cared how Valerie reacted to the situation as long as she got her point across loud and clear. It was the point Archie had been expecting but he was still disappointed to hear it aloud. “This year, we’d like to build on that success, continue telling our story with songs we write.”

Archie couldn’t believe this. How could they really not give him a chance? No, not ‘they’ Josie. Josie who thought that they were too important to deal with him. And maybe she was right they were a bit of a sensation around town but that didn’t mean they couldn’t give him a chance. It just wasn’t fair.

“But-”

“Look at us, Archie,” Josie snapped her fingers as if drawing in his wavering attention instead of already having it all on her. “We’re a girl-group of color, and-”

“Lots of divas of color perform songs written by Caucasian dudes,” Archie said desperately, he knew this might be his last chance to convince her of anything. “Beyoncé, Christina, Nikki. Maybe if you tried one, even to hear how it sounds-”

“No,” Josie held up a hand to cut him off. She shook her head as she drew closer “I want you to read my glossed lips, Justin Gingerlake: Not. Gonna. Happen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see I restored Miss Grundy back to her original age from the comics because I think the change for the show, and the plot they gave her, was stupid and disgusting. She will continue to appear over the story and she and Archie will have a much different relationship than in the show. As always thank you for reading and tune in next week for another chapter.


	6. Betty II

“Can I sit here?” Veronica Lodge was posing the question of the century or at least that’s what it sounded like to Betty. Her perfectly manicured hands, a rich purple color that would be banned in the Cooper house, gripped onto the sides of her lunch tray.

“Of course.” Kevin slides his bag off the seat and Veronica takes the spot.

“Is your school’s food always this terrible?” Veronica picked at the definitely burnt and probably hazardous chicken nuggets that sat on her tray. It made Betty gag, not that what she had was any better. Betty remembered the days her mom had always packed her lunch, complete with a note of advice that only a mother like Alice Cooper could conjure up. But since starting high school the year before Betty no longer allowed her mom to make her lunch.

Kevin grabbed his carton of chocolate milk and shrugged. “You get used to it.”

“I guess I’ll be getting used to a lot of things at Riverdale,” Veronica gave one more look of disgust to her tray before pushing it a little way away her. She folded her hands on top of the table and gave a quick glance at the other surrounding tables.

“So,” Kevin leaned in with a gossipy look that Betty knew too well. “How has your first day at Riverdale High been?

Veronica paused for a little awkward laugh, “No to be a complete narcissist or anything but I thought people would be more...”

“Obsessed with you?” Betty ignored the pointed look that Kevin gave her. She wasn't trying to sound rude if that was how it was coming out; sometimes she was just bad with people. “Are you disappointed?

Veronica shook her head and lightly fingered her pearl necklace, “I’m… relieved, actually. Everything has just been so stressful since my father was arrested and I’m glad that I’m not being stared at or bombarded with questions. I’m finally getting that chance to breathe that my mom had promised me.”

“Don’t take it to personally,” Kevin assured her as he ate his salad. “Any other year you might be number one on trending but with tensions between us and the Southside being so high right now things are a bit different.”

“Southside?” Veronica cocked her head. “What’s that?”

“The Southside is the poorer and more gang ridden part of Riverdale,” Betty explained. “There was an incident over the summer that got the school permanently closed down and now several of the students are here. Some people aren’t taking it very well.”

“Especially Cheryl Blossom,” Kevin said rolling his eyes. “Is it just me or has the queen bitch become even worse over the summer though it’s probably because this is her senior year. Thank God she and her brother are graduating at the end of all of this.”

Veronica arched an eyebrow, “Who’s Cheryl Blossom?”

“She’s-”

“Veronica Lodge!” a melodic voice rang out.

Betty cringed when she heard it. One didn’t live in Riverdale for this long and not know how to recognize Cheryl Blossom’s voice. It held a sense of confidence that could get basically anyone to do anything for her but just a touch of evil. Just like the demons Betty’s mom always made the Blossoms out to be.

“Cheryl Blossom,” she said in greeting her hand was held out in front of her and she had eyes only for Veronica. “I wanted to see if the rumors were true for myself. Betty, would you mind.” She didn’t even give Betty a chance to respond before she took the seat across from Veronica forcing her to move over. “So what were you three hens gossiping about?”

“Um, extracurriculars,” Veronica said quickly. “Weatherbee wants me to sign up for some-”

“Cheerleading,” Cheryl said with a smile that reminded Betty of a serial killer. Ok, so maybe she was exaggerating a bit but she couldn’t help it if Cheryl was downright evil and there was no chance of her ever shaking that undeniable part of her identity off. “You _must._ I am senior captain of the River Vixens.”

Kevin scoffed, “is cheerleading still a thing?”

The smile dropped off Cheryl’s face so fast as she shot Kevin an absolutely killer look. “Is being the gay best friend, still a thing?”

Betty barely held herself back from snorting and tried to cover it up by sipping at her milk; Kevin wasn’t buying it and still shot her a look. Betty and Cheryl may have had a mutual dislike for each other, but Betty had to admit the other girl had some pretty great comebacks. If only she wasn’t a bitch the rest of the time.

“Well at Spence I did sit at the top of the Elites’ pyramid. I’m so in.” Veronica said with a positively gushing smile. “Betty you’re trying out too.”

“Um, I…”

The truth was Betty would have loved to be a cheerleader. But she always had so much else that she was doing and she knew her mom would never approve of the ‘cheerleader culture’. She would claim that ‘girls like that’ were no good for Betty and that she would get swept away in drugs or drinking or something else totally unrealistic but just as dangerous. Besides Cheryl would never allow her onto the River Vixens.

“Please,” Veronica’s hand shot across the table and latched onto Betty’s. Betty blinked at the sudden contact but didn’t pull away. “You can’t leave me high and dry to navigate this new world on my own. She can tryout right?”

Cheryl blinked once, twice, and then cocked her head, “Well it is open to everyone but Veronica you must know that Betty exceeds the standard weight restrictions.”

Veronica frowned crossing her arms over her chest, “Isn’t it a little rude to have weight restrictions?”

Cheryl gave a laugh, a high pitched little thing that made her sound like a Chihuahua. Betty really wished that she would go away before saying anything else. She tossed her ginger locks over her shoulder with the carefree attitude only someone as heartless as Cheryl Blossom could have. She pursed her lips observing first Veronica and then Betty before speaking again.

“You’ll have to take that up with the coach. I don’t make the rules Ronnie, I just enforce them. Follow me on Twitter and I’ll do the same. My handle is @cherylbombshell. Tootles,” and just like that Cheryl Blossom was gone as if she had never been there in the first place. Betty finally let out the breath she’d been holding, being around Cheryl always made her feel a little bit terrified to breathe at all.

“You know I said I wanted to try orange but she is one bitter pill to swallow I don’t care how hot she is,” Veronica said looking over her shoulder at Cheryl’s fleeting form.

For some inexplicable reason Betty felt a burning blush begin to take over her face. She shoveled a spoonful of peas into her mouth and tried to ignore it. She hoped that no one would notice but they were bound to. But even so Betty wasn’t even sure _why_ she was blushing, it’s not like what Veronica had said was that important.

“You like girls?” Kevin asked saving Betty from having to do it herself.

“Yeah… and I just realized that I haven’t come out here yet,” Veronica said with a charming lilt to her voice that made it sound as if she were laughing at herself. “I’m bisexual. Boys _and_ girls are something I’ve always been into.”

“R-really?” Betty found herself saying. Under the table she found herself pinching her leg for how stupid she had sounded. Wounds were less likely to show up through the denim then on her exposed palm. And if her mom saw scars on her hand she might start asking questions that Betty wasn’t ready to answer.

Veronica nodded, tapping a finger against her lips. “I remember my first kiss with a girl. Seventh grade, Lavender Tiller. She was a good kisser and had the prettiest green eyes I have ever seen.”

Betty had never met this _Lavender Tiller_ but she was pretty sure that she didn’t look anything like her. Because as her mind wandered over into thinking about the girl that Veronica had kissed she envisioned blonde hair pulled into her almost signature ponytail. But Betty knew that wasn’t right. She didn’t even have green eyes.

Besides it wasn’t like she actually wanted to kiss Veronica. Why would she want to? No, the reason Betty saw herself kissing Veronica was because she didn’t know this Lavender and her mind had just made up a face. It just so happened that the face was hers, nothing special. But her warming face did seem to be saying something else.

“Are you ok?” Kevin squinted at her leaning forward. “Your face is really red.”

“I’m fine,” Betty chirped hoping that it sounded true. “It’s just a little hot out here don’t you think?”

“I feel fine,” Veronica said. “But I do need to pee. I’ll see you later, at cheer tryouts.”

Betty nodded dumbly, completely forgetting to say anything to Veronica. She shook her head at herself. Why was she acting like this, so weird and unresponsive? Maybe she was coming down with some kind of summer flu.

“Do my eyes deceive or were you totally checking out the new girl?” Kevin said bluntly an eyebrow arching as he dared for Betty to contradict him.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Betty said spooning more peas into her mouth. She didn’t even like peas, why did she keep subjecting herself to them? She grabbed her milk to wash down the taste while Kevin rolled his eyes.

“Don’t bullshit me Elizabeth; I know gay when I see it.”

Betty tried to give him a very convincing eye roll back. “I think you need to get your eyes checked, Kev.”

Kevin stood up shaking his head. “You might be lying to me but don’t lie to yourself.”

Betty watched him as he walked off with his tray. Kevin might have had the distinction of being one of the very few gay people in the town of Riverdale but that didn’t mean he knew anything about Betty or her feelings. She didn’t feel anything for Veronica, she had hardly meant Veronica. She was pretty and nicer than she had expected, but Archie was safety and comfort. The perfect boy for her. Wasn’t that what she wanted?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some casual gay stuff for y'all. If you don't like my changes that's fine but please do not make any mean spirited comments. As always thanks for reading.


	7. Josie I

Josie pursed her lips in the bathroom mirror as she spread her Devil’s Chocolate Ice lipstick on them; it was an exclusive shade that had been sent to her by whatever company wanted Myles McCoy’s daughter promoting them. She had to admit that it wasn’t a half-bad shade. Checking her reflection one last time she twisted a few of her curls into place and exited the bathroom.

Valerie was waiting by her locker typing away on her phone, “so I’ve been thinking about the new song we’ve been working on for the semiformal and I’m just not sure it’s ready.”

As main songwriter of Josie and the Pussycats Valerie was worried whenever she didn’t think one of her songs was working out. She had been like that for as long as Josie could remember and would probably keep all her songs locked away if it wasn’t for Josie. The pair had gone to school together for years but didn’t become close until two summers ago, when they were fourteen, they had both interned at Power Records. Josie had accidently stumbled across Valerie singing one of her original song in a stock room. She remembered having to practically beg Valerie to start a band with her.

Over the next couple of months they practiced and soon had auditions for a drummer as neither of them knew how to play. That was how they officially met Melody Valentine. She was a year older than them, a senior this year, and a bit on the quiet side but was killer on drums. Josie knew she had to join them the second they heard her play. But it wasn’t until Josie had brought those cat ear headbands to rehearsal that Josie and the Pussycats truly became a thing; even winning Rockland County’s Battle of the Bands the year before.

And no matter how far they had all come or who they impressed or how well people knew them Valerie was always insecure about sharing her songs. Josie didn’t really get it but she tried to be there for her friend.

“Val,” Josie popped open her locker. “We have been practicing Fear Nothing for the past two weeks, I’m sure we know what we’re doing.”

“Of course we know it.” Valerie chewed on her lip, “but what if it’s not good enough. I don’t want to put out a song if it isn’t good. We have a reputation now Josie and I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

Josie really doubted that the people of Riverdale would hate the song. It was good and even if it wasn’t the best, they were performing at the school dance it wasn’t like too many people were going to be paying attention. Most of the students would be too busy locking lips to care about anything the Pussycats might be playing. However if she were to tell Valerie that she would be upset that no would listen instead of calmed down.

Instead Josie opted for a comforting hand on Valerie’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine. You’ll see Val, everybody loves our music.”

“Yeah,” Valerie nodded. “You’re probably right. But can we practice Fear Nothing again after school? I want to be completely sure.”

“Can’t, Mel’s got a shift at Pop’s today, but we can run through it again tomorrow,” Josie grabbed her history book and shoved it into her backpack. “But I need to say that we have to run through a few of our other songs too.”

Valerie twisted her mouth together; Josie had known her long enough to interpret this sign. If Valerie could have gone to Pop’s and convinced him to let Melody have the day off she would have. But Melody needed to work to help put herself through college next year because unless the band actually took off Melody was going to be a doctor. Josie had never realized how many years of school really went into being a doctor until she met Melody.

“Val, I’m going to say this one more time,” Josie started off towards their next class. “Stop worrying; it will not do you any good besides you’ll get wrinkles.”

Josie smirked as Valerie rolled her eyes but she knew that for a moment she had distracted her friend from her stresses. She was right after all stressing out wouldn't help in the long run. And as up and coming pop divas they needed to keep up an image and wrinkles were out of the picture.

Her father had taught her that as a girl, it was one of the few things he had done for her. He didn’t know how to be nurturing so instead he had given her tips on how to survive the music industry and signed her up for music lessons when she was six years old. Her mom had been the one to wipe away her tears, read her bedtime stories, and come to all her performances. The only one her dad had come to before had prompted him to say that she had failed at all her lessons.

But Josie didn’t need to ride at her dad’s coattails to make it big. She had a talent all her own and she would show everyone in Riverdale just what Josie and the Pussycats could do.

She linked arms with Valerie, “first we ace World History then the music scene.”

“Josie!” that was the booming voice of resident meathead and jock extraordinaire Reggie Mantle greeting her as she walked into her history class. If there was anything to know about Reggie it was that he liked to flirt, and he liked to flirt a lot. He loved it when girls fell at their feet for him and Josie just wasn’t going to be one of those girls.

She crossed her arms and glared at him while Valerie went to find a seat, “what do you want Mantle?”

“For you to finally admit you’re in love with me.”

Josie rolled her eyes and had to keep herself from completely gagging at the thought. Reggie was fine for the most part but his general attitude could be obnoxious to say the least, and with her career Josie only had time for two things practices and schoolwork. Dating wasn’t really an option and even if it was Reggie would never be her top choice.

“In your dreams,” she turned on her heals and marched back to where Valerie had claimed them both a seat. “He really just won’t give up.”

Valerie shrugged thumbing through her textbook, “maybe it’s because he genuinely likes you.”

“Please,” Josie rolled her eyes. “Just like he ‘genuinely liked’ Brigitte Reilly?”

Brigitte was another junior at Riverdale and Reggie’s most recent ex-girlfriend. Josie didn’t know too much about her except that she was in choir and mostly kept to herself. She wasn’t even sure how Reggie and Brigitte had become a thing but they had dated for no more than a month. But what Josie did know about was the very public breakup which involved Brigitte dumping a milkshake on his head at Pop’s.

“You have a point.”

Josie arched a brow, “don’t I always.”

Valerie shook her head and went back to the textbook for whatever it was that the teacher was having them do. Josie’s eyes briefly flickered over to Reggie again. He was sitting on a desk talking loudly to his friends and gestured as he explained something to them. While not Satan spawn there was just no way that they would work, and Reggie was just going to have to get used to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Josie is supposed to be a main character on the show but she is often pushed aside so I've decided to try to fix that a little. Again thank you for reading and please come back next week for another chapter.


	8. Veroinca III

“So what should I expect from cheer tryouts?” Veronica said to Betty, who was looking very, very nauseous. Maybe convincing Betty to come to tryouts with her had maybe not been the best idea.

Betty was chewing on her lip as she stared across the gym to where Cheryl and two other girls watched over the tryouts. One was a petite girl with short black hair and a big smile; she seemed very encouraging as she clapped whenever each pair was done. Veronica was super glad that they were allowed to tryout in pairs. Less for her sake and more for Betty who now had both hands clasped to her stomach.

“Earth to Betty, are you ok?” Veronica tried to sound teasing as she put a hand on Betty’s shoulder. But the look she gave made it clear that now was not the time for jokes. “Seriously, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing besides the fact that the last time I tried out Cheryl told me that I was too fat,” Betty snapped, which surprised Veronica. She had never seemed very snappish. “Or how did she put it… ‘too season 5 Betty Draper’. I’m not ready for more embarrassment.”

“Betty look at me,” Veronica grabbed the blonde’s shoulders and turned her to face her. “Do not listen to Cheryl, she’s the kind of person who will say anything if it gets her what she wants. Now I don’t know what her motivation for keeping you off the squad is but I would suggest that you don’t listen to her.”

Betty nodded and finally a smile came onto her face, “thanks, Veronica.”

Veronica winked at her, “my friends call me Ronnie.”

“So…” Betty said with an awkward smile. “What were you asking about tryouts?”

“Yes, who are those two?” Veronica pointed over to where Cheryl and the other two girls sat watching another pair audition. One of the girls trying out was a chubby brunette that would have never found a place in the Elites and the other was a tiny Asian girl who looked absolutely terrified to be there; she had to be a freshman Veronica decided. Cheryl and her partners, minions, whispered between each other as they observed the pair.

“Well,” Betty began, regaining Veronica’s attention. “The smiley one with short hair is Midge Klump. She’s a junior and honestly one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. I have no idea how she and Cheryl are friends and at this point I don’t think anyone is willing to ask.”

“And what about the other one?"

Betty narrowed her eyes at the other girl. The other girl had long brown hair pulled into a high ponytail so ringlets fell around her shoulders. Veronica didn’t know where the girl had gotten a nail file or why she wasn’t paying attention to the girls trying out but it was obvious that she didn’t care about this at all.

“That’s Ginger Lopez,” Betty said stiffly and Veronica had to arch an eyebrow at what that was all about.

“It doesn’t seem like you like her.”

“My sister knows her better than me. But she’s just… terrible,” Betty pulled at her ponytail. “Or maybe she just really hates me and Polly. She’ll never accept me on the team even if Cheryl, by some miracle, allows me to join.”

“Polly, that’s your sister?”

Betty nodded, “Yeah. She’s a senior, like Cheryl. But she’s nothing else like her.” Betty rushed to get those words out her eyes widening at the sheer horror of comparing her sister to Cheryl. “Polly’s really sweet and mostly keeps to herself, but in the last year she has gotten on Cheryl’s radar which is never good.”

Veronica knew girls like Cheryl very well. She used to be friends with girls like Cheryl. Hell, she used to be a girl like Cheryl. But coming to Riverdale was a chance for her to leave all of that behind her. She didn’t need to be a shallow bitch anymore. She was fifteen and at some point in her life it was time for her to grow up, if only Cheryl had gotten the memo.

“Lodge, Cooper you’re up.” That was the one Betty had called Ginger. Looking up now Veronica could see she had on thick eyeliner; it made her eyes look narrow like she was always glaring at you even if she wasn’t. In complete contrast with Cheryl who actually was glaring at them.

“Let’s go ladies we don’t have all day,” Cheryl’s voice was clear and sharp.

“You can do this,” Veronica whispered to Betty who was turning a dozen different shades of green. “I believe in you.”

Veronica started them through the cheer that they had put together earlier that afternoon. Betty’s arm movements were jerky and her smile wasn’t quite convincing enough, but Veronica had faith in her. Betty had done so well earlier when they put it together. She did a spin and sent another encouraging smile to Betty who hesitated before returning it. As the routine continued Veronica could see from her peripheral that Betty’s movements were becoming more self-assured.

“Woo, go Riverdale,” Veronica said raising her arms in the air and sending their judges a smile.

Midge was clapping as she beamed a megawatt smile at them, “that was very good. Betty, I loved that energy as you continued forward. And Veronica I can definitely see that you have had training before. You both would make wonderful additions to the team.”

“They were good enough, better than those Southside girls for sure,” Ginger peeped up on the other side of Cheryl earning a glare from the red head. Ginger didn’t crumple under the glare but instead grew as if wanting for Cheryl to see just how much like her she could be. It made Veronica roll her eyes. “But really do we just want ‘good enough’ on our squad?”

“ _My_ squad Ginger,” Cheryl drawled twisted a perfectly straight lock of red hair around her finger. “But you are right. Ladies, where’s the heat? Where’s the sizzle?”

Veronica groaned internally and fought the urge to roll her eyes; Cheryl was never going to make this easy now was she? But suddenly an idea came into her head. She wasn’t sure how receptive Betty would be for it, but it just might work. And even if it didn’t it might make Betty loosen up a bit.

“Well, you haven’t seen our big finish yet.” Veronica grabbed Betty’s arm, the girl’s eyes widened as they came closer. She lowered her voice so that only Betty could hear what she was saying. “Don’t freak out. Just trust me.”

Betty’s lips were soft. That was the first thing Veronica noticed when she brought Betty’s face to hers. She smelled like a mixture of vanilla and sweat and surprisingly it wasn’t a terrible combination. Betty had all but frozen under Veronica’s touch; she was almost terrified to move. When Veronica pulled back she smiled at Betty to help her feel more secure. The other girl’s large blue eyes just stared blankly at her.

“Check your sell-by date, ladies, faux lesbian kissing hasn't been taboo since 1994.” Cheryl looked like a tightly wound coil that might launch out of her seat and slap them, her lips curled. Seriously what was her problem?

Veronica turned to share her thoughts with Betty and found that she had turned a truly vicious shade of pink. One hand was resting over her mouth where Veronica’s lipstick had smudged against her lips. Betty didn’t look her in the eyes but instead was focusing very hard on the ground. Ok, so maybe she had underestimated just how tense and uncomfortable Betty could be in any situation.

“If you really think that after this whole display along with your less than stellar tryout-”

“Cheryl, they weren’t that bad…” Midge spoke up.

Cheryl rolled her eyes before fixing an annoyed look at the petite girl. “Midge, never interrupt me. Veronica if you want it there is a spot open. And Betty… better luck next time.”

“Ok,” Betty said softly her hands away from her mouth now.

Veronica crossed her arms and stepped closer to Cheryl. She wasn’t really giving Betty a chance she was just ushering her off without a second thought. No, Cheryl Blossom had long since up made her mind about Betty. Whatever it was. But Veronica Lodge wasn’t known to go down without a fight.

“Really, you’re just going to blow Betty off,” Veronica snapped. “What right do you have to do that?”

Cheryl arched her eyebrow, “I don’t _need_ to explain myself to you. But if I must, I want girls with fire on my squad. And sorry Betty, but you just aren’t it. Besides I’m not sure anyone would be able to lift you.”

Veronica saw Betty ball her fists at her side. A tense sort of energy radiated off of Betty. Veronica could almost imagine that if no one else was around to witness it Betty just might punch Cheryl Blossom in the face. And Veronica would no doubt say that she deserved it. Cheryl really was shaping up to have a very punchable face; why had Veronica ever thought that she was cute?

“No,” Veronica said it firmly and loudly. She wanted Cheryl Blossom to know exactly how she felt. “I know girls like you Cheryl, and for some pathetic reason you would rather people fear you than like you. So you treat everyone around like they aren’t worth it. But we are worth it. And, you see, that certainty, that entitlement you wear on your head like a crown? It won’t last. Eventually, there will be a reckoning. Or... maybe that reckoning is now. And maybe, that reckoning... is me.”

A muscle twitched in Cheryl’s jaw. She was really holding back for some reason. Maybe it was because she didn’t want anyone to see her lose her composure. Veronica didn’t know and she certainly didn’t care. She was going to do whatever was possible to destroy Cheryl’s reign here and knock her off her high horse so she could see just how like the rest of them she really was.

“Betty and I are a matching set. You want one, you take us both. You wanted fire? Well sorry, Cherylbombshell, my specialty’s ice.”

Cheryl was holding her breath that much was obvious. Veronica didn’t care whether or not the queen bitch decided to turn them away now or not but she wouldn’t allow her to treat her, or Betty, so poorly. It wasn’t right. Veronica could see that now that she was on the receiving end of the terrible things being said. No one had a right. Not her. Not Kate Templeton. And definitely _not_ Cheryl Blossom.


	9. Archie III

All of Archie’s muscles burned and it was only fifteen minutes into football tryouts. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. As he got some water he watched as the others ran drills and the coaches yelled at them to do better. Reggie plowed through several team members but Moose easily took him down. Moose was a big dude and Archie didn’t ever want to get on his bad side.

“Andrews!”

Archie turned to see Coach Clayton beckoning him over.

“What’s up, Coach?” Archie said jogging over.

Coach Clayton clamped a hand down on his shoulder as he started walking along the football field forcing Archie to move with him.

“You’ve been playing with some real -- _stuff_ out there, Andrews.” Coach Clayton informed him. “Like you’re trying to get something out. Something you didn’t have last year. Usually, sophomores only play JV, but this year, we’ve got an open spot on Varsity. Based on what you’ve been showing us, I’d like you to fill it.”

Archie blinked up at him; he wasn’t sure he heard right.

“Me? Not Adam? Or Moose?”

Adam Chisolm had only moved to Riverdale the year before and although Archie wasn’t his biggest fan he did have to admit that he was very good at football. Much better than Archie himself. Archie had known Moose Mason since he was a kid and if there was one thing he was good at it was football. The dude was huge and could easily knock away any who was coming towards him for the ball, which could be a real asset on the team.

“Chisolm’s got too big of a head on his shoulders. We’ll keep him on JV to hopefully knock him down a peg,” Coach Clayton explained. “And Moose, God bless him, just isn’t bright enough for Varsity.”

“But, um,” Archie stumbled through his words. “Varsity's got longer practices, and, uh, more away games…”

Coach Clayton nodded, “Bigger commitment, yeah.”

Archie just wasn’t sure if he was ready for all that especially when he was trying, and failing, to get his music career off the ground. If he ever wanted to improve than he would need to practice and whatever football could do for him just might not have been worth it. Now just how did he explain any of that to his coach.

“Well, I need to think about it, Coach.”

Coach Clayton frown at him, “Oh, what, you got something better to do?”

“My dad's company.” Archie said quickly knowing that Coach Clayton had gone to school with his dad and understand how he might be would hopefully sell this. “It’s our family business, and he's sort of counting on me to help out after school, on weekends…”

It wasn’t necessarily a lie but it definitely wasn’t the whole truth. He knew that his dad wouldn’t be too happy if he learned that Archi had used him to lie. Archie’s mom was a lawyer, and although she live in Boston now, she had told him that lying in most situation could get him into trouble sometimes bigger ones than they were ever worth. He wondered just how right she would have actually been about this.

Coach Clayton patted his shoulder “You know what, why don’t you sleep on it?” He turned out to the where the rest of the team was still practicing and awaiting the results of tryouts. “Let's go. Bring it in, guys. Come on.”

“Hey.”

Archie turned in surprise at the sudden voice behind him. It was the girl from Pop’s last night, Veronica Lodge, and she was wearing a cheerleading outfit that looked completely right on her. She smiled, it was a slow smile and her eyes darted over him sizing him up. Betty was standing next to her in a cheerleading outfit as well shifting on her feet.

“Hey,” Archie nodded a greeting. “Nice outfits.”

Betty smiled, but it was weak. Archie almost asked her what was wrong but then Veronica moved and caught his attention again. She looped her arm through Betty’s forcing her to take a step forward so she was actually standing with them instead of off to the side.

“Betty here has something she wants to ask you about the Back-to-School dance.” Veronica said with a generous scoop of enthusiasm. “Go on, Betty, ask.”

Betty looked terrified, honestly it was a little weird. Archie wondered if he should try to assure although he wasn’t quite sure what he would assuring her about. Her eyes darted over to Veronica who smiled again and nodded. Whatever was happening she was clearly excited about. Archie focused back on Betty.

“I was wondering if you wanted to come with… both of us.

“Huh?” Archie frowned

Veronica blinked in confusion, “what?”

Betty’s gaze was locked on Veronica not even daring to turn to Archie. He was beginning to feel as if something was going wrong. “It’s your first dance at Riverdale, Ronnie. You should have someone to go with, even if it's just a friend.”

That was nice of Betty but he didn’t real feel as if a dance was right for him. It wasn’t what he would normally picture his weekend doing. And of course with everyone else out at the dance then he could have some free time to himself for music and he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone dropping in.

“You know I’m not sure if I’m in the headspace for a dance.”

“Oh,” Betty’s eyes went wide almost in surprise. “That’s okay, see you.”

Before Betty could make a move to leave, however, Veronica tightened her grip on Betty’s arm and fixed Archie with a determined look. He had a feeling that there was no way that he would be able to say no to whatever it was that Veronica was about to say.

“Totally unacceptable, Archiekins.” Veronica started out; she crossed her arms and looked directly into his eyes. “We need an escort. Take a break from whatever it is guys like you enjoy and come spend a blissful evening with not one, but two newly-minted River Vixens. We’ll text you time and place.”

“Okay.” Archie couldn’t help but say. “Yeah, okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another Archie chapter which is kinda weird as he is one of my least favorite characters, but whatever. Also if there is a character name you don't recognize chances are they are from the comics I used several names from it to help build the world. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this week's chapter. Thank you for reading and come again next week.


	10. Betty III

Betty couldn’t stop thinking about Veronica Lodge. Or more specifically about her kiss with Veronica. What did it all mean? Did it mean anything? Betty was probably just overanalyzing it, thinking about it too much because that was her first kiss since kindergarten. And honestly did a brief kiss between two six year olds count as a real first kiss?

But the kiss didn’t really mean anything. It was just a way to show Cheryl that had what it takes to be on the squad. Although Betty knew that Cheryl didn’t think she had what it takes. She thought Veronica did and Betty was just an afterthought to keep her happy. But Betty still got a uniform and a spot on the squad so it wasn’t really all that bad.

“What are you wearing?”

Betty’s sister Polly was leaning against her car looking at Betty with a shocked expression; her pale eyebrows disappearing into her hairline. Polly even made a show of taking her glasses off and cleaning them as she observed Betty. But Betty wanted none of that, she just wanted to go home and worry about homework. Not Veronica, not Archie, not Cheryl, not anything else.

“Please, don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“Oh don’t worry about me Betty dear,” Polly placed a hand on her chest. “It is our mother with whom you have to worry about.”

“With whom?” Betty repeated drily as she threw her backpack into the back seat of her sister’s car.

“Yeah it does kind of sound stupid.”

Polly climbed into the car and started the engine while Betty tugged at the end of her cheerleading skirt. Midge had told them, when she gave them their uniforms, that they could get them altered if they needed to. She had given them each a card of the seamstress that typically did the cheerleaders uniforms. Maybe Betty should give her a call; she wasn’t sure she was entirely comfortable with the length of the skirt.

“I have a date to the semiformal.”

Polly arched a brow, “really? Did your favorite ginger finally realize just how in love with you he was and get up the nerve to ask you?”

Betty shook her head. “No. Veronica, sort of, asked him… for the both of us.”

“Veronica…” Polly said pausing. “As in the new girl, Veronica Lodge? As in Hiram Lodge’s, the man in all the newspapers, daughter? God, Mom really is gonna kill you Bets. You should have told me I could have gotten you some ice cream to make it easier.”

Betty twisted the end of her ponytail around and around. She had completely forgotten how hearing that she was, sort of, friends with Veronica would not go well with her mom. Alice had gone to school with not one but both of Veronica’s parents and she was going to have opinions no doubt. She always had opinions. There wasn’t a single thing on earth that Alice Cooper didn’t have an opinion about. Betty didn’t want to think about it anymore.

“Can we-can we not talk about it?”

Polly tilted her head, “come on, let’s get a milkshake.”

“What?” Betty squints at her sister. “Don’t we need to be home by four? It’s almost 3:45 now.”

“Mom can get over herself for once,” Polly said turning the steering wheel and putting them on the road to Pop’s. Betty knew that her mom and sister had not been on the best of terms lately; even resulting in a fight that had Polly disappearing from home one night while Betty was away. Still she found herself more than a little surprised at her sister’s comment about their mom.

Betty twisted a strand of hair around her finger as she watched Polly fiddle with the radio. For some reason Betty had thought that she was the only one who had changed, that she could disappear for a summer and come back and everyone would be in awe over this new and cultured girl. She thought that everything would be the same but it wasn’t. Archie and Jughead were no longer friends, there was an intriguing new girl in town, and her family was falling apart more than usual.

“Hey guys,” Polly’s friend, Melody, waved to them as they walked into Pop’s. She was wearing the classic uniform that Betty was sure had not changed much since the 1950s but it was still a cute look.

Pop’s was always the same. The same people were always here for a bite to eat and hang out with friends and family or even a date. There was an old fashioned jukebox in the corner playing songs that Betty had never heard outside of Pop’s. A few kids from school were here already, including Jughead Jones; she waved to him but he didn’t look up from his computer.

Melody walked over to their booth smiling, “what can I get you guys?”

“Betty, here wants a strawberry milkshake and I’ll take a number seven,” Polly said without even having to look at a menu. Then again she had been living in Riverdale for almost eighteen years and had gone to Pop’s more days out of the year than she could count so of course she wouldn’t have to check a menu.

Betty leaned forward, “I thought we were just getting milkshakes.”

“ _You_ are just getting a milkshake and if Mom blames me for you suddenly becoming a cheerleader I’m getting a whole meal in case she decides to go for solitary confinement as punishment.” Polly laughed at her joke and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“Polly?” Betty tested, getting her sister’s attention. “What happened between you and Mom over the summer?”

Polly’s shoulders slumped together and she shook her head, “Betty, please, can we not talk about it? Just so much happened and it was kind of awful and I really don’t want to think about it right now, alright?”

Betty and Polly rarely hid anything from each other so Betty really wanted to push and ask what was up her sister and mom. But Polly really didn’t look as if she wanted to talk about it and knowing just what they mom could be like Betty wasn’t so sure she wanted to hear about it. Still, Polly was one of her favorite people honestly and she wanted to help her with whatever was going on.

“So instead of parental issues can I ask instead about your new project?”

Polly practically lit up at that. She had a deep interest in photography and was often working on something new for her portfolio especially in the last year because college applications were coming up soon and they knew if she didn’t get accepted somewhere good Alice would be upset. Cooper women did nothing less than perfect according to their mom.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving me,” Betty said sipping in her strawberry milkshake glad for the comforting feeling that washed over her.

Polly rolled her eyes, “it won’t be that bad. Honestly I think Mom always liked you more anyway. I am the ‘problem child’ after all who wears too bright lipstick and stays out after ten. I mean ten is barely even that late I don’t know what her problem is sometimes.”

Betty frowned remembering the Adderall and lecture Mom had given her that morning. If she didn’t already have one daughter to prepare for graduation she might be ripping into Betty more than she did. College was so important to her especially when it came to scholarships and Betty was sure she could handle her mom’s pressuring.

“I don’t know about that,” Betty mumbled.

“Well once she sees you in that outfit she’ll blow a gasket for sure,” Polly took a bite of her burger. “The Blossoms are evil in Mom’s eyes and to be associated with one is like taking the devil to bed.”

“You know you’re not making me feel any better.”

“The point is that Mom will freak out over everything and that you shouldn’t care too much what she thinks. Just live how you want to live and Mom can stick to her stupid old ways and make us feel bad for actually wanting a life,” Polly popped a fry in her mouth. “And one day you’ll be an adult living somewhere out of Riverdale and you won’t have to care what Mom thinks anyway.”

Maybe Polly was right even if the possibility scared her just a little bit. Doing her own thing and not worrying for once; how would that feel? Betty sipped at her milkshake again as she thought about it. Mom would have hated it if Betty were to pull out her phone right now and text Veronica asking her to go dress shopping later, but to Betty it felt right and so she did it. Veronica responded enthusiastically with a lot of exclamation points.

Betty suddenly felt sick; she hoped she was doing the right thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we get to see Polly Cooper who will be just a bit different from her show counterpart, I hope you enjoy it though. In this chapter we get to see a bit more of Betty. I'm really excited to write more for her. Thanks for reading there will be more next week.


	11. Cheryl I

Cheryl was fuming when she got back to Thornhill. She slammed the door of her red convertible and marched upstairs to the loud clicking of her heels. She had been prepared to give Veronica a place in her River Vixens and be a friend of sorts but the girl had to go and have more bite than Cheryl anticipated. She had dared to make Cheryl look like a fool and all in defense of that Cooper bitch.

Ginger had mocked her about it once tryouts were over. Cheryl didn’t even know why she even bothered to tolerate that little suck up especially whenever she tried to act as if she might someday outclass Cheryl. Honestly she would have rather died than let that happen. She couldn’t decide which was worse though Ginger’s barely disguised interest in reaching the top or Midge’s overabounding enthusiasm. She would put practically anyone on the squad if Cheryl wasn’t there to lend a guiding hand.

“Cher,” there was a knock at her door and the familiar red head of her twin brother, Jason, poked into the room. “I heard your door slam, what’s up?”

“I have two new recruits to the River Vixens that make me want to stab my eyes out, but what else is new?” Cheryl drawled as she took her shoes off letting them fall to the floor with a resounding thud. The floors having carpet that covered every surface had been her mother’s idea; she had said that kids should be seen and not heard and whenever their father had business meetings downstairs Cheryl and Jason had always been sent up. The carpeting was to make sure that they could never be heard downstairs.

Jason stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Mostly likely Mommy was having her mid-afternoon nap and if they awoke her they would be sorry. This had always been a fixed part of the day in the Blossom house. Their mother would get drunk off of whatever expensive alcohol their father kept stashed away and then curl up in bed for hours with no intention of getting up until dinner. It happened no less than three times a week.

“Is it that Lodge girl I have been hearing about?”

Cheryl rolled her eyes, “unfortunately so. I think she’s trying to sabotage me, Jay-Jay. Maybe I should ruin her first and show her exactly what a Blossom is made of. It won’t take that far when her father is already in prison.”

“Secrets would already be exposed and prime for the exploiting,” Jason mused taking a seat next to Cheryl. He cocked his head to the side in a moment of thought. “Who was the other girl though?”

Cheryl wanted to scream rather than say the name; she flung herself backwards into the bed covering her eyes with her arm. “That Betty Cooper, I cannot believe that Veronica actually stood up for her. She should know to stick to her own kind by now. And if I am not the cream of the crop that exists in this cesspool of Riverdale than I don’t know who could be.”

“I don’t think that Coopers are that bad…”

Cheryl lifted her arm to glare at her brother, of course he wouldn’t. But she did have to admit at least they were true Northsiders and not any of the trash that came from the Southside. She had had to deal with at least six of those Southside girls thinking that they were River Vixens material. What gave them the right to come into her school and act as if they belonged?

She had been absolutely infuriated when the notion to rebuild Southside High had failed to pass, but in the summer it had seemed so far away not staring her in the face. If Cheryl couldn’t deal with Veronica how was she supposed to rid her pristine Riverdale High of those awful Southsiders? They brought their gangs and drugs with them no doubt along with below average test scores as well. How was she supposed to get into a good college if they thought the high school she went to was pathetic and didn’t care for itself the way that it should?

“That’s your plotting face,” Jason said. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing solid yet,” Cheryl said sitting up. “But if we can rid our school of the Southside vermin for good I think I might feel a little better. We cannot allow them to become comfortable here, Jay-Jay. This isn’t the place for them.”

He pursed his lips in thought, “I’m sure your right, Cher. But are you going to challenge the ruling of the mayor.”

Cheryl frowned, her mouth tight. “Don’t test me. I can do anything I set my mind to, you know? Besides so many people want them gone from the Northside that if I just appeal to the right people those despicable Southsiders may just be back to their trash hole by the end of the week.”

“And what about your new squad members?”

“Hell Week can come in more ways than one,” Cheryl said standing.

Jason arched a brow, “you're trying to steal our thing.”

“Oh please,” Cheryl spat. “The football team doesn’t have a copyright on it. But I will put those girls through trials they could never hope to achieve and soon they’ll see what to expect from a Blossom. It’s-”

The door swung open cutting them off. Mommy was standing there, one manicured hand on the door and the other holding a glass filled with a vibrant red wine. She stared at them with bloodshot eyes not saying anything as she nursed her drink. Jason rose to his feet next to Cheryl and they both waited for what their mother would say.

“Cherry,” she said in a too sweet tone leaning against the doorframe. “Why are you home so early? Did no one show up for your Vixen tryouts?”

Cheryl crossed her arms narrowing her eyes at her mother she was not in the mood for this at all. “No, in fact we had a very large number of new recruits this year. And even some of those absolutely awful Southside girls tried out.”

Her mother sipped at her drink, “don’t tell me you let any in.”

“Of course not.”

“Oh, don’t take that tone with me Cheryl,” her mother snapped. “I am your mother after all and we both know that you have moments of weakness, like letting that Cooper girl in. I mean really, what were you thinking?”

“You heard that?”

Her mother waved her hand and strolled into the room sitting on the bed and reclining as if she might just fall asleep right there. Cheryl hoped she didn’t, there were things that she needed to do and she couldn’t have her mother passed out in the room. And of course waking her up would be absolutely out of the question.

“I came to tell you to quit slamming doors, I mean really don’t we respect anyone in this house?” She took another long drink from her glass. “And then I heard you and Jason talking. I mean really Cheryl I thought you would have had more integrity than letting that Cooper girl in.”

“I do have integrity.”

Her mother arched a brow in a way that said ‘oh please’, it made Cheryl want to scream. Her mother couldn’t even focus on her plans to ruin Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge she could only focus on the mistake of letting them on the squad in the first place. Unfortunately it wasn’t like she could take it back now. Ginger would smell the blood in the water for sure and she couldn’t have that.

“Sit with me Cherry,” Mommy patted the bed. “I want to talk to you. You’re dismissed Jason.”

Jason shot Cheryl a look but she didn’t respond just straighten her back and took the seat. There was nothing else to do. And all Jason could do then was leave them alone. Cheryl had no idea what to expect from her mother especially not when she had been drinking so heavily. It wasn’t going to be good that’s for sure.

She stroked Cheryl’s head twisting her fingers in the red locks, “you are a stupid girl, Cherry. You think your plans mean something don’t you?” She grabbed Cheryl by the chin and forced her to look in the eyes. They were bloodshot and cold, making Cheryl want to scream. “You’re weak and no matter what you do or say you always will be. I want you to get that Cooper girl off your squad. And make yourself useful and take this to the kitchen for me.”

Her mother pressed the glass into Cheryl’s hand and laid out on the bed, her silk robe fanning out around her. Cheryl’s first thought was that she should smash the glass into her mother’s head and watch as the blood poured out, but that wouldn’t change anything. Her father wouldn’t even try to protect Cheryl if it came down to it and Jason could do nothing without his support. No one else would want to help her either; they would just say that’s what happens to Blossoms.

Cheryl gripped the glass in her hand and smiled at her mother, “as you wish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating on time but I have been very busy lately. I think I'm going to take a brief hiatus from this. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading.


	12. Jughead I

Jughead was hunched over his laptop trying in vain to write something, anything. There were days when the words just flowed out of him and it felt like he would never stop writing and other days he couldn’t think of a thing. Today was just one of those days when it felt like his mind and imagination had betrayed him. If he were ever going to get a book published someday then he would need to actually write something, but nothing would come to him.

“Can I get you anything?” Pop said, sidling up to Jughead’s table. Jughead had been there since school had gotten out and he was probably beginning to wonder if he would ever leave. Which Jughead knew wasn’t likely or at least not anytime soon.

He paused, “I’ll take another cheeseburger, Pop, thanks.”

“What you doing anyways?” Pop said picking up Jughead’s plate.

“Writing,” Jughead glared at the computer, or least he wish that he was. The screen was still as blank as it had been all afternoon; even the cliché ‘dark and stormy night’ had managed to stay. Jughead really was failing at being a writer today.

“It seems like you’re having some troubles there.”

Jughead nodded, “waiting for inspiration to strike, I guess. Hey, Pop, can you actually make that a double cheeseburger.”

He had the distant feeling that he was going to be there a while so eating all the food he could get was exactly what he was going to do. Especially since he wasn’t sure what going home might entail. It wasn’t like Jughead was unused to his dad passed out from drinking but he never enjoyed it and it was when his dad was awake that it got really bad. And it wasn’t like Jughead didn’t have the money he had been working all summer at the Twilight Drive-In. Only small places like Riverdale had a classic drive-in these days.

Jughead ran the ticket booth mostly and was put in charge of making sure that no one was trying to sneak in for free but he had a soft spot for those who did. When he was young his parents had always put him and his sister, Jellybean, in the back so they could all get in as they never had much money to their name. He never called people out on trying to sneak in and hoped no one found out he was doing it.

While the drive-in might not seem like the ideal place to people in Riverdale Jughead enjoyed it there most of the time. He got to choose which movies were playing and think about what kind of story he might create one day. It could be about anything and then maybe he would get famous enough for them to show his movies at the drive-in. It was special even if one the weekends he had to deal with all the Southside Serpents hanging around.

Most of the Serpents probably weren’t that bad but the few that Jughead knew liked to mock him for working at the drive-in. They thought he should join the family business in a sense. But he had watched his dad over the course of the years and Jughead just didn’t think that being a Serpent was his thing. However now that Southside High had closed down the school was full of Serpents and it was only a matter of time before they started noticing him.

“Here you go,” Pop said placing a fresh cheeseburger with a large helping of fries on the side.

“I didn’t ask for fries,” Jughead said although he wasn’t disappointed.

Pop shrugged, “I know but I thought you could use some.”

Jughead picked up the burger and took a big bite. It was perfect, as all of Pop’s burgers were. Sure there were other places to eat in town but when it came to the truly best food in town Jughead could not understand why anyone would eat at a place other than Pop’s; it was the best. He had been eating there since he was a kid and still wasn’t tired of it.

“You really love your burgers, huh, Jughead?”

“Couldn’t love anything else as much,” he informed Pop very seriously earning a hearty laugh from the old man as he continued with his work.

The bell at the door rang and Jughead glanced up to see Betty and Polly Cooper entering. Once upon a time Jughead and Betty Cooper and Archie Andrews had been the best of friends; but things changed. Archie had become popular playing sports and hanging out with guys like Reggie Mantle, the dude who had mocked Jughead all throughout middle school. Betty on the other hand had become hyper focused on school with the overbearing mother breathing down her neck to ensure she did well. And it was safe to say that Alice Cooper did not like anyone with ties to the Southside even if there were superficial.

He hadn’t talked to Archie or almost four months and it had been even longer for Betty. Was it really possible to have gone from doing everything together to not even saying hello when they passed in the halls? But life happened and they grew up and hung out less and less ‘til it began to feel like they had never been friends at all.

Jughead ran his hand through his hair trying to distract himself from his thought; it made him feel a bit weird to take the hat off. Other people might have found it strange that he wore the hat all the time but to Jughead it was comforting. His mom had bought it for him as a joke when he was abought eight. It was a simpler time then when they could all still sit in one place as a family instead of being seven hours away.

Even Jughead didn’t spend that much time at home anymore; it wasn’t a place that he could stand. When he wasn’t at Pop’s he was at the drive-in and if not there at school. There wasn’t a place for him at home anymore; his dad was a sad and pathetic man right now and getting sadder. And that was why he hated that Southside high was closed now as it would put two very different parts of his life very close together.

He took another bite into his burger and almost didn’t notice the dude in the leather jacket who slid into the seat across from him.

“What do you want?” Jughead said glaring up at him.

He didn’t recognize the Serpent across the table, who smiled at Jughead like they were old friends and reached over grabbing a few fries off his plate. Nothing about this encounter made Jughead feel at ease no matter how relaxed the dude was. In fact maybe it was because he was so at ease that Jughead wanted even more for this conversation to be over with.

“You know you’re way around the Northside and as a Serpent by blood you should feel inclined to help out us poor Southsiders,” the boy said with another smile that made Jughead feel like vomiting. Was there a nice way to tell him to fuck off or would Jughead have to listen to all of whatever he was going to tell him. “The gang wants you to start sitting with them at lunch. Show them where your loyalties lie.”

Jughead cocked his head, “what if my loyalties lie with myself?”

“I don’t think that’s the right decision,” the Serpent dude shook his head, “especially since we aren’t the only gang finding its way into the Northside.”

The Serpent dude was right but there was still no way that they could convince him to start hanging out with the Southsiders. He tried to push all of that away and he wasn’t about to get sucked in; not like how his parents had been. He didn’t know much about gang loyalties and who else was in the Southside and it was staying that way.

“I’m more of a loner,” Jughead gestured around him to the empty table. “As you can see, and I’m doing all right on my own.”

“For now,” he snatched another fry off of Jughead’s plate. “See you around, Jughead.”

If that didn’t drive away any thoughts he might have had towards writing then nothing could. All Jughead could think about now was what was happening with the Southsiders. Not all of them were in gangs, he knew that, but that didn’t making being around a lot of them any easier. This school year had just started and he wished that it was already over; he couldn’t deal with this shit anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back this. I think that I will not be updating as frequently probably only ever other week rather than every week like before. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.


	13. Veroinca IV

Veronica held up the dark velvet dress to her frame trying to decide if it was worthy of her actually trying it on. It was a nice enough color but she was a little worried about how the cut would look on her. She turned to look for Betty and ask her opinion but the blonde girl was nowhere to be seen. After school Betty had texted her about going dress shopping and after picking her up at Pop’s here they were an hour later looking through dresses.

“Betty,” she stepped through the clothing racks to look around.

Betty was staring at a pretty pink dress up on a mannequin when Veronica found her a few moments later. She was doing that thing where she twists her hair and chews at her lip; Veronica noticed she did that when she was nervous. Although Veronica wasn't quite sure what she might have been nervous about. She walked over next to Betty who didn’t even notice her at first; she just kept twisting her hair.

“Betty,” Veronica said causing her to jump. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Betty said in a rush turning from the dress. She picked up a white one off a rack and held up for Veronica. “What about this one?”

It was cute but too plain for a school dance in Veronica’s opinion, but then again she was used to grand soirees. It looked like a casual summer dress and summer was nearly over now as school had started up again. Why would Betty pick up this one if the pink was the one that she was clearly more interested in? Veronica lifted the dress fingering the fabric and looking over it in her hands; it was so-

“-boring,” Veronica declared. “What about the pink one you were looking at? It’s cute.”

Betty’s blue eyes widened, “I couldn't possibly spend $500 on a dress. Mom wouldn't like that at all.”

Veronica had almost forgotten that the people in Riverdale were so unlike home. Her mother wouldn’t have backed away at a $500 dress, not even now when they were trying to save money. Although maybe Veronica wasn’t sure about that. She hadn’t stopped to think about other people's lives here and what they might think.

Sure Veronica knew that she was spoiled. You figure that out pretty quickly when you're gifted a pony for your tenth birthday. However up until now everyone around Veronica had been spoiled too so the thought of someone turning down a dress just because it was $500 was not something she was used to.

“I’ll pay for it then,” Veronica shrugged.

Betty let out a painful sounding squeak and shook her head, “I can’t let you do that.

Veronica waved down a worker to ask about the dress on the mannequin. Betty had flushed significantly but hadn’t done anything to stop Veronica even giving up her dress size when prompted. Soon the salesclerk had returned with the pink dress in a size that should fit Betty; Veronica took it from her with a triumphant smile and held it out to the blonde.

Betty stared at Veronica, not at the dress but just at her. “I couldn’t possibly-”

“At least try on the dress,” Veronica begged pressing the dress into Betty’s hands. “If you don’t like how it looks on you then you won’t get it, but if it does… at least think about letting me buy it for you.”

“Yeah…” Betty finally took the dress. “I’ll think about it.”

“Yay,” Veronica clapped as they walked over to a dressing room. “I’ll still be looking. I don’t think this velvet number is the right one for me yet.”

Veronica wasn’t actually sure that she could afford to buy the dress that Betty liked but she wasn’t going to let her arrive not in style. She and her mother were poorer now than they had been all of Veronica’s but they still had more than others. Her mother had to get a job at Pop’s because no one else would take her on. They didn't want anyone associated with the Lodge name working for them. It might have been different a year ago but with her dad imprisoned for embezzlement and fraud; things weren't the same.

She remembered coming home from school and her mother had informed her that she was going to be working at Pop’s Veronica thought that she might start crying. They had fallen so low in this past month and she wasn’t sure if she could stand her own mother serving every person in town; as she had learned Pop’s was the number one place to hang out. She didn’t know how her mother could handle all those people watching her and whispering of all the things that they heard about them.

Veronica mindlessly pulled a dark purple dress off the rack without even checking to see if it was her size and went back to check on Betty.

The pink dress looked absolutely perfect on Betty. It complimented her skin tone well making her cheeks look rosy. She cut a good figure in the dress for something that wasn’t very low-cut or tight in the waist. It stopped a little past her knees and Veronica knew that altogether it was a good look and no doubt Betty’s mother would approve.

“You look so pretty,” Veronica came behind Betty placing a hand on her shoulder.

Betty peered at herself in the mirror struggling to hold back a smile. She smoothed out the material of the skirt. “It’s nice but… Veronica I don’t want to ask you to buy this for me. That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Nonsense,” Veronica waved it away. “What are friends for if not helping you get a dress for school dances?”

“I guess,” Betty chewed at her lip. “Well, what about you? What did you pick up?”

Veronica looked down at the plum dress in her hands which she really hadn’t gotten a look at yet. “I don’t know.”

“Try it on,” Betty gave her a little push to an empty fitting room while she went to put her cheerleading uniform back on. Veronica had been surprised to see she was still wearing it when she had first picked her up but Betty had explained to her that she simply just hadn’t gotten an opportunity to change yet.

“I’m not sure if this is right for me,” Veronica said through the door as she pulled the plaid dress she was already wearing off.

Her pearl necklace jostled against her collarbone and Veronica finger’s grasped at it. She remembered when her father had given it to her for her twelfth birthday. At the time he hadn’t been the monster everyone made him out to be, he had just been her father and she had loved him. Now everything was going to shit and she wasn’t ever sure what to think. Veronica let go of the pearls and put on the dress.

The bodice of the dress was lace with an off the shoulder look that left Veronica’s tanned shoulders exposed. She had gotten a size that was slightly too big but the cinched waist made it hard to tell from the outside. The color went well with her skin tone but she wasn’t surprised as it was a color that she chose to wear quite often. The skirt was shorter than the one on Betty’s but Veronica’s shorter legs might need the extra help.

It wasn’t exactly what she had been looking for when she had started out but it wasn’t awful. In fact Veronica was sure that she actually liked it.

Betty just stared when she came out of the dressing room.

“Do you like it?” Veronica did a turn so that the skirt flipped up around her. It may have seemed childish but she loved it when skirts did that.

“You have to get it,” Betty told her with an excited nod. “Really, it looks so good on you.”

Veronica faced off with Betty crossing her arms. “I’ll only get this one if you let me buy you the pink dress.” Betty started shaking her head but Veronica continued. “You didn’t have to be as nice to me as you did, even inviting me to come dress shopping with you. I just want to be able to repay your kindness. Come on Betty, please.”

Betty still wasn’t entirely sure but Veronica had made up her mind and there was no stopping her when she did that. Buying the dresses was the easy part after all; explaining it to her mother later would be a bit harder. But she would have to understand that Veronica was trying to help her new friend. It was a little strange to consider Betty a friend already, but she had no one else.

“What’s your address?” Veronica said once they had gotten back into the car. Smithers did a very good job at pretending that he had not been asleep while they were in the store but Veronica didn’t buy it for a second.

“It’s, um, 111 Elm Street,” Betty said settling into the car with her dress bag laid across her lap as if it were a prized valuable. Veronica found it amusing in a way but she wouldn’t have voiced that thought aloud.

“So?” Veronica said with a smile leaning closer to Betty. “Do you think Archie will like your dress?”

Betty lightly touched the bag before she looked back up at Veronica. There wasn’t a sense of nervousness that Veronica might have expected from Betty; she seemed a bit more heart on her sleeve then Veronica was getting from her right now. The other girl shrugged and looked down at the bag again.

“I don’t think he’d notice anything I’d wear,” Betty said.

“Sweetie,” Veronica said with a frown. “All boys can be a bit oblivious at times but if you show up to the dance looking absolutely stunning in that dress then he’ll have to notice you. Why don’t you come to my place before the dance on Friday so that we can get ready together?”

“That could be fun.”

Yes, it could be. Veronica felt like she hadn’t had a good hang out with friends in a while. Shopping had been fun but she just wanted to sit in her room doing makeup and talking about life, just relaxed. She hadn’t known what to make of Betty when she had first met and there were still times when Veronica wasn’t so sure, but she was the only other girl she liked here so far. That had to count for something.

And if they were both going to have to deal with Cheryl it would be nice to have an ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always have so much fun writing this; I hope you all enjoy it.


	14. Archie IV

Archie walked alone the morning of the second day of school. Betty had texted him saying that Cheryl had demanded her presence at a River Vixens meeting so she and Polly were headed to school earlier than Archie would like to get up. He could have asked Reggie for a ride but he lived on the other side of town and Archie didn’t know if he could deal with him that early in the morning either. So walking was the only other option.

His dad had been a little upset with him when he had gotten home from school after tryouts yesterday. How could he have been so stupid to forget that literally everyone knew everyone one else in town, it wasn’t that big of a place. Coach Clayton had called up his dad some time in-between their talk and when Archie got home. Archie had already told his dad football would take up too much time to work and then said the exact opposite to his coach.

“Which one of us are you lying to?” His dad had said.

Archie didn’t really feel like he was lying but the look on his dad’s face had made him feel bad. All Archie really wanted to do his music but he didn’t want to disappoint anyone either. They were good people and Archie had no right to be twisting them around to his own personal problems. He just needed to figure things out, and fast.

Miss Grundy had offered to help him and Archie still wasn’t sure if he actually wanted to take her up on the offer. He didn’t know if he was ready to share his music with too many people yet and Miss Grundy was notoriously mean. Not just a little stiff and cold but had made a kid cry and switch classes last year. But she was older than dirt practically and had lived in Riverdale her whole life there was no way the school was getting rid of her now.

The halls of the school were packed with people including the new Southside students. Not all of them were gang members but several of them were and he knew that things might turn sour at any moment. He tried to avoid interacting with any of them; he knew what would go down if any of the Serpents pushed their luck around here. So far it hadn’t been that hard. But Archie never knew what was going to happen.

Just like when someone grabbed his arm and pulled him quite roughly out of the hall. Instinctively Archie jerked away almost elbowing the assailant, but then he heard a familiar voice.

“Cool it, Andrews,” that was Reggie Mantle. Although what he wanted with Archie he wasn’t quite sure. He turned around to see that not only were they standing in the boys’ locker room but he was face to face to the football captain. Archie suddenly felt as if something bad was about to happen.

“Welcome to Hell Week,” said Chuck Clayton with the biggest shit-eating grin Archie had ever seen.

The entire varsity football team was there including the other two newest members to the squad. They were two juniors: Reggie, who Archie already knew from football the year before, and Marty “Speed” Spencer, a former Southside kid who had been offered the chance to attend Riverdale before because of his athletic prowess. Archie couldn’t believe that he had been compared to these people when being chosen to be on the varsity team.

“What’s going on?” Marty said crossing his arms. As a transfer he had no idea about the tradition of the Riverdale football team’s _Hell Week_ which they had every single year to welcome new members. It was a way to embarrass the new members for a week to ensure that they would do anything for the team. And if they were to refuse it was safe to say that they would be cut from the team; especially since the captain this year was Coach Clayton’s own son.

Chuck could be a conceited jock sometimes but he wasn’t an idiot and he knew exactly the kind of pull around here not just with his dad but around the school too. He was truly the Big Man on campus and he knew it. There was no arguing when it came to Chuck it just wouldn’t do you any good and Archie was already resigned to whatever torments they might be put through the rest of the week.

His mind briefly went out to Betty and the new girl, Veronica, and whether the River Vixens had to go through similar initiations. He had never heard about anything before but the captain this year was Cheryl and she was known around school for always making a spectacle. If they did have anything Archie hoped it wasn’t too bad. Veronica had just moved here and it would be a shame if she left, especially since they only had one class together to begin with. World History; and she didn’t even sit by him.

“Weren’t you listening, Spencer?” Chuck rolled his eyes. “It’s Hell Week, which is something we do over here in the Northside to build character amongst our new teammates. I hope you are up for a challenge.”

“I’m up for anything,” Reggie said with his usual bravado.

“Now that’s what I like to hear Mantle,” Chuck clapped a hand on Reggie’s shoulder. Reggie straightened his back and Archie almost rolled his eyes; it was only a matter of time before he would start showing off. They had all known each other long enough to know the drill by now and to say that it had gotten old was an understatement.

Archie lifted his chin trying to show that he wasn’t going to be scared by what they wanted him to do. “What do you have in mind… captain?”

The grin on Chuck’s face should have alerted Archie to the fact that this was not going to go well. But Archie tried to believe in the good in people and that maybe, despite previous years, their Hell Week wouldn’t be that bad. It couldn’t possibly be anything that embarrassing or awful, there had to be rules or something, right?

“I think we’re going to give the school a little surprise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short chapter but I still think it's interesting. Again thank you to everyone who is reading this. I really do hope that you enjoy it.


	15. Cheryl II

Cheryl stalked the ground in front of the cheer squad observing them all with a keen eye. They sat in a half formed circle with their bags around them since it wasn’t a real practice. The casualness and lack of respect made her skin crawl but she needed to suck it up. Coach Pacer said that she needed to hold an informative meeting today so that was what she was doing.

“Last year we had three of our own graduate,” Cheryl said. “And with tryouts yesterday we have finally found girls who are… worthy of replacing them and keeping our team at the top of its game. As long as we keep together we will be strong.”

Cheryl practically choked trying to say that Betty Cooper was worthy of her squad. She hoped that at least Veronica wouldn’t be dumb enough to sabotage the squad and that Trula Twyst continued to be as good, or better, than she was at tryouts. But she wouldn’t have to deal with Betty much longer if her plans worked out.

“Thank you for that Cheryl. Now I need everyone to go around the circle and introduce themselves,” Coach Pacer said with a smile. “We want our new team members to feel welcome and like they belong.”

Cheryl caught Ginger’s eyes rolling and had to keep herself from smiling; Ginger couldn’t ever come to the conclusion that Cheryl might actually like something she did. One must never show weakness or others would pounce. She was glad that Ginger was a senior that year or else she would be competing against Midge to take the spot of senior captain next year. There was a headache forming at just the thought of that fight.

“I’d like to go first Coach Pacer,” Midge spoke brightly earning a nod from their coach. “I’m Midge Klump, junior captain, and my favorite color is blue.”

They did this every year. Cheryl hated it, honestly, as she had to watch every girl give trivial facts about themselves. There were a total of thirteen girls on the squad and Cheryl knew each and every one of them. What they said in their little circle meant nothing to her all she wanted was to see how they performed and if they failed she would whip them into shape no matter what it took.

Ginger popped her gum while this went on; she couldn’t have cared less about this if she tried. Midge clapped as each girl went encouraging them all to go on. Tina Patel was a junior and Ginger’s only other friend, she was just as much of a suck up to Cheryl but even more of an idiot. Sitting next to her was blonde Lottie Little, she was a ditz but was tiny and therefore a good flyer and really the only reason Cheryl kept her around.

Sandy Sanchez was third in class behind Cheryl and her brother although not in that order much to Cheryl’s annoyance. Judy Johnson was a flirt and had dated many of the football players. Kim Wong’s father had opened a branch of his company in Riverdale two years ago and moved the whole family there. Danni Malloy liked to ask too many questions and Katy Keene thought she was pretty enough to be a model.

And of course there were the three newest members. Trula was a prime candidate to take over Midge’s role once Midge took over Cheryl’s after graduation; she’d be a perfect senior captain. Veronica was sitting next to Betty and they whispered back and forth; the sight of those two made Cheryl want to scream. She couldn’t wait until that insufferable blonde was no longer on her squad so that she could take a moment to relax.

“This has been a great first start,” Coach Pacer said with a wide, enthusiastic grin, honestly lot was a bit nauseating. “Make sure you are all back here in the gym after class today so our first practice can begin. Go Riverdale!”

The other girls cheered and started to get up as Coach Pacer left but Cheryl had something else in mind.

“Hold on,” she snapped. “I’m not finished with you.”

The team shot each other looks and whispers as they settled back down. Midge stared up at her curiously and Ginger gave a dramatic yawn in Tina’s direction earning a snicker. Cheryl was going to rip her throat out the next time she got a chance.

“As we all know we have three new teammates. I’m not sure that all of our teammates are fully equipped for everything that this upcoming year could have in store for them.” Cheryl paused to shoot a glare in Betty’s direction.

“What do you mean?” Midge said and did that thing where she scrunched her nose in deep thought which honestly wasn’t that deep.

“If you had given me a moment maybe I could have explained better.” Cheryl frowned down at Midge but the other girl didn’t whither but instead cocked her head waiting for an answer. Cheryl straightened up, lifting her head so she could look down her nose at all the other girls. They needed to see exactly who was in charge. “Betty, I’m still not sure that you are ready to be a River Vixen.”

Veronica glared at Cheryl while Betty dipped her head uncomfortably. A few of the other girls whispered and glanced in Betty’s direction. Cheryl caught Trula sitting up straighter with the knowledge that she wasn’t the one driving them into the ground.

“Last year, Baxter High creamed us at the spirit regionals and we lost the Golden Whistle because of Bella Reemer. Which everyone knows is really the only reason that anyone even goes to regionals. Bella was a little like you, Betty, a sad young woman who didn’t quite have what it takes. Hopefully you can do better.”

Betty nodded fervently her ponytail smacking into her shoulders. “I’ll try really hard. You’ll see and then we’ll win back-”

“No, no this isn’t about winning,” Cheryl smiled what she knew was a truly vicious smile. She had learned it from her mom after all. “Your mission is to find a way into Baxter High and steal back our Golden Whistle. If it’s not in my possession before Friday than you can kiss your spot on the squad good bye.”

Betty’s jaw dropped open and Veronica looked just about ready to fight. Her dark eyes flashed and Cheryl caught Betty grabbing onto her arm to keep her in place. Oh this was going to be so much fun. She almost couldn’t wait to see what would happen now; she did love to see chaos unfold in front of her.

Cheryl crossed her arms as she glared directly at Betty and Veronica. “Am I making myself clear?”

“As crystal,” Betty said

“Good,” Cheryl smiled brightly as she turned around to look at all of the other girls. “And also remember everyone is required to attend my Back-to-School dance after party no exceptions. You’re dismissed.”

Cheryl breezed out of the gym hair flipped behind her as she turned. She didn’t bother to wait for Ginger and Midge as she knew that they would only piss her off more besides Midge probably wanted to go make out with her dumbass boyfriend, Moose, somewhere. Honestly Cheryl should have made a rule about who the cheerleaders could date so she didn’t have to see that abominable couple everywhere.

“Hey Cheryl,” Josie waved. “What have you been up to?”

Josie was distracting her, but maybe this was what Cheryl needed at the moment. Something that wasn’t related to the River Vixens might decrease her headache a bit, and she liked talking to Josie more than anyone else at Riverdale. Besides she couldn’t find Jason to complain anyways and that might only stress her out more.

“Just a little mischief,” Cheryl said with a coy smile back at Josie. It earned her an arched eyebrow, a look that Cheryl knew meant that Josie was onto her. Although Josie could never be sure what Cheryl was actually doing with her time and could only guess. She loved being an enigma and she loved it more that Josie cared enough to even ask.

“I have never known you to get into only a _little_ mischief in your life.”

Cheryl flipped her hair over her shoulder, “well there is always a first time for everything, isn’t there? How are you and the Pussycats coming along, will you be regaling us with your wondrous vocals this Friday at the dance?”

Josie nodded, “yeah, Mom says that we need to fit in more public performances at any opportunity. And of course the school jumped at the chance to have a real band rather than some kid working as emcee all night.”

“At least then our music won’t be taken over by any of those wretched Southsiders.”

“They aren’t so bad. You might even like a few of them if you were to interact with them,” Josie said with a laugh tossing her hair over her shoulders. Cheryl almost didn’t want to disagree with her, why would she say something that Josie wouldn’t like. She swallowed those feelings down, however, as she thought of something much better to say.

“Oh Josie, soon you’ll see. Riverdale High is no place for the Southside.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading. Any unrecognizable character is probably from the Archie comics.


	16. Kevin I

Kevin was absolutely bored out of his mind sitting in the common room waiting for Betty and Veronica. He wanted to hear all about what had happened at the cheer squad meeting and whatever heinous acts that the devil herself, Cheryl Blossom, could have possibly pulled. Riverdale was fairly boring but Cheryl always had a way of making every day into something to gossip about and Kevin could not be more ready.

He always needed a distraction these days. Betty not being there for the summer had been torture; he needed other people to do things with to talk to. His dad worked a lot and when he was around he wanted Kevin to talk about what had happened last spring. Kevin wanted to do everything in his power to forget what had happened to his mom.

Loud voices drew Kevin’s attention.

A few Serpents, made clear by their jackets, were in the common room and a couple of students were glaring at them and whispering. His dad has always been very adamant that Kevin stay away from Serpents as they were considered no good and probably criminals. Almost everyone on this side of Riverdale would have agreed with that and Kevin should have been no different. And he hadn’t been, at least until that summer. Because that summer he had met Joaquin.

It had been a little bit of an accident at first but there had been no accident the way that things turned out later. Summer romances were so cliché, Betty would say, but she didn’t know anything about this. Kevin had decided not to tell anyone and many that had been for the best, after all and the sheriff’s son couldn’t exactly be caught with a Serpent. And it didn’t matter anyway since Joaquin had stopped talking to him a week before school started. Maybe with the Serpents filling the halls he could find one that would tell him something.

“Is this seat taken?”

Kevin looked up to meet the dark eyed gaze of a Southside Serpent. He was cute, actually, with his nicely styled dark hair and slightly crooked smile. A series of rings were on both hands and he was messing casually with the dog tags he wore. The seat he was referring to was the other end of the couch near Kevin as most of the other chairs were taken up and the only thing next to Kevin was his backpack. Kevin nodded and the dude sat down, propping his feet up on the table.

“What’s your name?” Kevin asked.

The other dude arched a brow; this was probably the first time that a Northsider had bothered to really say anything to him.

“It’s Fogarty,” he said cocking his head to look over Kevin. “But I guess you can call me Fangs.”

“Well, I’m Kevin,” he said unsure of this other dude, Fangs, really cared or wanted to keep the conversation going. But Kevin was going to say things anyway that was just who he was and if Betty wasn’t going to show up for a while then he might as well keep himself entertained. “How are you liking Riverdale High so far?”

Fangs turned to Kevin again with a sort of amused expression on his face. “What’s not to like? There are those who hate us and harass us, those who hate us and avoid us, and those who hate us but pretend that they don’t by acting really nice. I’m not here for a welcoming committee and you sure as hell don’t want to be my friend, so let me put a stop to you right now.”

Kevin was about to say something back to that but a blonde girl in a Serpent jacket burst into the room. A commotion could be heard in the hall through the open door behind her. Her eyes were wild as she looked around the room before landing on Fangs. She ran up to him and grabbed onto his arm and he gave her a confused look, eyebrows knitting together.

“Fangs, you have to see this,” the girl said.

“Why? What’s going on?”

She frowned her blue eyes narrowing dangerously. “I knew we never should have come here. They hate all of us, and I think that Sweat Pea is about to get into a fight with one of those Bulldog assholes.”

Fangs jumped up at that and the two of them ran out of the room. A little bit more than intrigued Kevin followed after them which was hard to do considering the growing crowd of people in the hall but he tried to push through as many as possible. Whatever was happening was near the front of the school and he heard yelling as he got closer.

“Kevin.” Betty grabbed onto his arm from out of the crowd. Veronica was close behind her, mouth pressed into a firm line. “Do you have any idea of what is going on?”

He shook his head as he tried to peer over the crowd. Several of the football players including Archie who was looking quite uncomfortable were standing in a group. He saw Cheryl’s bright red hair through the crowd as she managed to secure a spot for herself in the front of the action. No one would have dared deny her of it, or they might have lost a finger as well as social standing.

What really caught Kevin’s eye, however, was the giant green snake in the shape of an “S” in the middle of the Riverdale High seal. He could hardly believe that any of the Serpents would do that. Because why would any one of them want more of a target on their backs than there already was. It was far from the likely next step.

A dark haired boy who was tall but skinny was standing across from Reggie Mantle yelling at him. Reggie looked snug, a smirk on his lips and his head cocked back as if barely listening to whatever the other dude was saying to him. As the dude stepped closer Reggie pushed him back and the other guy balled his fist and probably would have hit Reggie full on in the face if Principal Weatherbee had not interfered at that exact moment.

“Stop it now, both of you.”

“Did you see that!” Reggie demanded pointing at the other guy. “Principal Weatherbee he was about to hit me and I think that not only are starting fights against school rules but also the defacing of school property.”

“You’re so full of it Mantle,” a voice in the crowd called out.

Cheryl stepped forward then her heel clicking against the floor and suddenly everyone’s attention was on her. Her red lips were pulled into a pitying smile and her arms were crossed over her chest. “Principal Weatherbee, as the community of Riverdale High we did not ask for the Southside students to come to our school, particularly the Serpents. Already this has been nothing but a problem and it will only get worse as they fill our classrooms with underachievers. I am begging that you fix this and return the social order.”

“Ugh,” Kevin heard Veronica say. “She really is turning out to be some sort of Fascist Barbie. Can she actually get away with saying all of that?”

“Please, Cheryl I can handle this.” Weatherbee turned out to face the swarms of students focusing intently on a section where Kevin could see Fangs and the blonde girl along with a few other Serpents standing together. “Which of you defaced our school seal with this graffiti?”

There was a clamor of voices as they all swore they had nothing to do with it and other students tried to yell over them.

“This is what they do, Principal Weatherbee. They tag their turf,” Reggie said earning him an intense glare from the boy had almost punched him. Kevin was certain that if Weatherbee wasn’t there than nothing would have stopped him from tackling Reggie to the ground and beating him into a pulp. He may have been skinny but he looked fierce like there was no challenge that he’d back away from.

“Well if no one is willing to own up to what happened then effective immediately, no gang behavior of any kind will be tolerated at my school. As of this moment, no more Serpent jackets.”

“What? That’s unfair!” yelled the dude who was facing off with Reggie.

“Just be glad that I’m not having you suspended or expelled. And I stand by what I said there will be no more Serpent jackets and all tattoos are gonna be covered on school property. Possession of any gang paraphernalia whatsoever after today will lead to immediate suspension. Are we clear? That’s all. Now everyone get to class.”

The dude muttered something that Kevin could only guess was a curse before stomping off into the group of Serpents nearby. The rest of the student body started to drift away too. The football team all jostled each other and called out to the Serpents who just glared at them before the slunk slipping off their jackets as they went.

“Wow Reggie is such an asshole,” Veronica said looking over to where he was. “It’s so clear to anyone that he had something to do with it. And probably the rest of the team too, but what I don’t understand is why.”

Kevin looked over to her, “most people hate the Southside, Veronica. They just decided that it was maybe time to take matters into their own hands. Besides considering that it’s their Hell Week I doubt that they had a choice and they probably didn’t even try to fight it anyway. That’s just how things are around here.”

Betty stopped walking and turned all the way around so that she was no longer standing between Kevin and Veronica but in front of them. “Speaking of Hell Week, Kevin, there is something that I wanted to ask you.”

“What?” Kevin’s eyes darted over to Veronica who was scowling. “Judging by her expression I feel like this isn’t going to be good.”

“Kevin I’ve wanted to be a part of the River Vixens since like ever, you know that.” Betty’s face had flushed red and her ponytail bobbed around as she kept speaking. “And today Cheryl was saying all these things about weeding out the weak and making the squad stronger. And although I despise her I really don’t want to get kicked off the squad. So you have to help us, please.”

Kevin narrowed his eyes, “with what exactly?”

“Cheryl wants us to break into Baxter High,” Veronica said.


	17. Betty IV

“I heard about the stunt that the Southside Serpents pulled at school today,” her mom said as she scooped out a helping of mashed potatoes onto Betty’s plate. “I want you two to be careful. Who knows what kinds of dangers having those types of students in our side of town will do. I was very adamant against the merger but it seems Mayor McCoy does not care what I, or any other parent, think.

“I actually don’t think it was the Serpents,” Polly said.

Her mother rounded the table and laser focused her gaze on Polly. Their father shifted a little in his seat but didn’t do much to act as he really cared about the conversation. Honestly he either didn’t really care or would have chosen his wife’s side so it didn’t really matter anyway. “Oh, and just what exactly makes you think that?”

Polly shrugged as she picked at the green beans. “I mean most of them are just trying to get an education like seriously what would be the point of even going to school if not. Pulling something like that will get them endlessly tormented by people who already hate them and they might get kicked out. I think that it was one of your precious Northsiders that you praise so much.”

Betty shoveled a mouthful of potatoes into her mouth as she watched as her mother took a seat across from Polly. Her blue eyes narrowed dangerously as she looked at her daughter, she was not enjoying being questioned. And although Betty refused to say anything and be a part of this conversation a part of her agreed with Polly. However she couldn’t have her mom getting mad at her now because that would make sneaking out a whole lot harder.

“As your mother I would advise you not to talk to any of the Serpents no matter how… innocent they may seem.”

“You know not all the students from Southside High are in gangs, right? Couldn’t I talk to some of them and try to-”

Her mother slammed her fork down, “they are not some project Polly or something that you can analyze. They’re people, and most of them are far too dangerous for you to just go around talking to. From now on you aren’t allowed to speak to anyone from Southside High and that goes for you too Betty.”

Polly frowned, “Mom, I’m practically an adult and I should be able to decide who is alright to talk to. You can’t go around controlling every aspect of my life like you did when I was a little kid. That’s not how this works.”

“That is exactly how this works because _I_ am your mother and you are not an adult you are a child. If you are feeling so adult than you can get a job and move out and do whatever it is that you want with your life but as long as you live under my house you will follow my rules. Now are you going to finish your dinner or continue arguing with me?”

Polly stood, the chair scraping against the wood floor. Betty watched as their mother took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She really wanted to get out of their whole conversation was incredibly uncomfortable and she wasn’t sure if you could take it any longer. The only thing she was sure she could handle right now were green beans, mashed potatoes, and a slice of ham, everything else was too much.

“I’m not hungry,” Polly declared.

“I better not hear you coming down to get anything out of the kitchen later tonight.”

Polly crossed her arms, eyes flashing behind her glasses. “Does that mean I can leave or are you keeping me chained to the table?”

“Just go you’re already giving me a headache and I am sure that there are others things that you would rather be doing with your time.” Alice took a sip of her water and Polly spun around and stomped up the stairs. Betty could hear the door slamming from all the way down here. “So Betty how was your day at school, please tell me that you didn’t talk to any of those Southside miscreants.”

Betty shook her head, “No… it was a quiet day.”

“Good. Now your father and I going back to work after dinner we have a big story that we are working on and we need as many hours in the office as possible before Thursday. I know that I don’t have to worry about you but would you keep an eye on your sister and make sure that she doesn’t do anything like sneak out.”

“Alice, Polly can take care of herself she doesn’t need to be watched over,” Betty’s father spoke up from where he was cutting his ham into quarters.

Her mother frowned, “her behavior tonight says differently, Hal, and are you forgetting what happened over the summer. We do not want a repeat of that incident. It was hard enough trying to find her last time but what about when she knows that we are looking for. I want to be able to trust Polly but she has put nothing but doubt in my mind.”

“May I be excuse,” Betty said interrupting her father’s response. “I’m not feeling so good; I think I need to lie down.”

“Of course, honey,” her father said. “Your mother and I have a few things that we need to discuss anyways.”

Betty all but flew up the stairs and into her room, being very careful not to slam the door behind her. She leaned back against it and took a deep breath. Now all she had to do was to get ready to sneak out and steal the Golden Whistle. It couldn’t possibly be that hard, right? Both Kevin and Veronica had basically called her an idiot but neither one of them realized just how much this meant to her.

Cheryl had been mocking Betty pretty much their whole lives. She was two years older than Betty, incredibly beautiful, and richer than half the population of Riverdale combined. Cheryl thought it was her God given right to show everyone just how little they matter in the eyes of the world. Betty could not give her another reason to belittle her she would show that mean spirited redhead exactly what she could do.

Betty turned off her light as if she was sleeping, changed into a darker outfit, and watched as her parents left the house and drove away. She texted both Kevin and Veronica that their plan was good to go and started to lift open her window. It was all getting so close that she could almost grasp it.

“What are you doing?”

Betty almost jumped out of her skin when she heard Polly’s voice behind her. She was standing in the now open doorway and she’d changed too. Instead of jeans and a plain shirt she now wore a black skirt and cute purple sweater and her hair was done with ringlets framing her face. She looked far too dressy for just hanging out with friends but it really wasn’t in Betty’s position to ask what she was doing.

“Nothing,” Betty said hurriedly stepping away from the window. “Why are you dressed like that?”

Polly and Betty just stared at each other. Polly crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin as she studied her sister. Betty felt as if every single butterfly in the world was in her stomach and there was no way that she could keep them all down.

“I’m going out… and I’m gonna guess that you are too,” Polly paused and then her eyes widened. “Tell me, are you going to finally hang out with the boy of your dreams? You know as your big sister there was no reason for you not to come to me about-”

Betty shook her head, “I’m not going to hang out with Archie… I’m sneaking into Baxter High to steal back the Golden Whistle.”

Polly arched an eyebrow and let out a low whistle. “Cheryl really is cold blooded. Well, Betty, I wish you good luck in your little adventure. Even I wouldn’t break into another high school. I hope you don’t get arrested or anything. Especially if you have Kevin with you; are you going to have Kevin with you?”

“Maybe.”

Polly laughed and shook her head as she walked out of the room. Now that Polly knew it probably meant that Betty didn’t need to sneak out of the window but she still did need it to be open when she got back so out the window she went. She thanked whatever crazy home renovation ideas had made her mom put up a trellis right under Betty’s window as she lowered herself to the ground. She grabbed her bike and was off.

Veronica and Kevin were already standing outside of Baxter High when she got there. Veronica looked very fashionable in her dark cape and high heeled boots that Betty almost wanted to tell her that it wasn’t being filmed. Kevin, on the other hand, wore dark jeans and a t-shirt since he definitely didn’t own anything quite as high fashion.

“God, I thought you had abandoned us,” Veronica declared with a dramatic hair toss as Betty got closer. “Although I don’t know how we’re going to get in this place is locked up tighter than a Tiffany’s.”

“Don’t worry I thought of everything.” Betty pulled on a hair pin and went to work on the lock popping it open with ease. Kevin high fived her and walked on in while Veronica watched her with a blatant look of interest. “No I’m not actually a criminal mastermind. I’m used to working on mechanics with my dad and my mom has a thing for locking doors. I just learned how to unlock them after a while.”

Veronica chuckled as she walked in, “Betty you will never cease to amaze me.”

Betty was glad that it was dark inside to hide the blush that was creeping across her face. Kevin was already further down the hall peering at old photographs and calling commentary over his shoulder. Betty and Veronica followed after looking over as well seeing everything that there was to offer. She was sure that they could both hear the thundering of her heart echoing throughout the halls; they were gonna get caught it felt almost too easy.

“This place is lot bigger than Riverdale High,” Veronica said as they turned down another hall.

“Greendale is a lot bigger than Riverdale,” Kevin said he was leaning over to look at something. “Hey guys I think that I found your Golden Whistle.”

They hurried over, Veronica’s shoes clicking against the floor, to see what Kevin was referring to. And sure enough in a display case that showed off all of Baxter High’s athletic achievement in the section that was marked off for the cheerleaders was a gleaming gold whistle. Betty smiled broadly as she turned to Veronica who nodded approvingly.

“Can you get this lock off too?”

After a minute Betty realized that she couldn’t which was upsetting to say the least. She had gotten all the way to Greendale, snuck into one of their high schools, stressed herself out so much, and then was not able to get what they had even come for. She turned to tell them that it just might be over when she saw Veronica wielding a fire extinguisher

“My turn,” she said and before either Betty or Kevin could do anything she’d smashed the glass and plucked the Golden Whistle from its perch. She winked at Betty as she handed it to her. “This isn’t my first break in either.”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah it’s great bonding and all,” Kevin said stepping in between them. “But let’s get out of here before we get into some real trouble. I am not exactly looking forward to being grounded and I doubt either of you are too.”

Unfortunately, as it turned out, it didn’t matter when they left as the Greendale police were already outside waiting for them. Betty wanted to vomit upon seeing them and Veronica grabbed her hand reassuringly but she didn’t exactly feel better. Kevin swore under his breath as the police officers walked over to them shining flashlights.

“We got a call earlier about suspicious activity and decided to come check it out. What are you doing at Baxter High this late?” One of the officers said narrowing his eyes at them. “I would say that is trespassing.”

Veronica stepped forward, “please, officers-”

Another officer stepped forward as well and he was shaking his head at them. “I’m sorry, miss, but I think that you three will have to come down to the station with us.”

“Well this is just great,” Kevin grumbled as they were escorted away.

Betty was completely and absolutely sure that she was going to die. She looked down at her hands; all this for a stupid whistle, Cheryl better appreciate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, Betty and friends are in a tight spot what could happen next? Anyways thank you for reading. I really enjoy coming up with things for the Riverdale characters.


	18. Kevin II

Sitting in the Greendale police station at 10:48pm on a Tuesday was not how Kevin typically wanted to spend his time. Veronica had done that stereotypical rich girl thing where she had threatened to call her lawyers but the police hadn’t seemed to care. Betty had practically sobbed all the way there and was currently trying to convince one of the police officers to call her sister rather than her mom.

“Do you think that she’s going to be fine?” Veronica said peering over into Betty’s direction. “She looks like she might stop breathing.”

“Betty will be fine, eventually, this all stems from growing up with a mother who is… intense to say the least. She’s dealing with it the best as she can if only Alice would stop being a hardass for two seconds and realize what she is putting her daughters through.”

Veronica turned to look at him, “You know, the more I hear about Betty’s mom the less eager I am to meet her.”

Kevin snorted, “oh, you’ll meet her soon enough she has a way of making everyone’s business her own.”

Veronica shook her head at that and Kevin slumped back into his seat. His dad had already been called and he was less than thrilled about experiencing a lecture on the way home. All Kevin really wanted to do was go home and sleep, no lectures, no police stations just sleep. It would do a lot more for him than any else right now.

A door swung open but Kevin didn’t look up. People had been coming in and out for the past fifteen minutes but when he saw Veronica shift beside him he decide to investigate. A dark haired woman dressed in a navy dress and an expensive looking overcoat had entered. There was an obvious resemblance to Veronica but she had even fiercer cheekbones and a dark, magnetic gaze that could force anyone to stare at her.

“Mija,” she said coming over. “What are you getting yourself into?”

“Mamí,” Veronica said urgently grabbing onto her mom’s hand. “Can we talk about this later? Can we go please? I want to go back to the Pembrooke.”

Veronica’s mother’s frowned emphasizing the few lines around her mouth. She clearly wanted to talk about it now and Kevin totally got why Veronica didn’t. This whole thing was turning out to be a much bigger deal than Kevin had wanted it to be and he was just tired. None of it was Betty’s fault; the police had gotten a call and who else would know that they were at Baxter High except for the devil herself. Kevin was already done with Cheryl and they hadn’t even finished with their first week of school.

“Polly’s coming,” Betty said as she took Veronica’s vacant seat. “I think she was out somewhere, but she’s coming for me… I hope Mom never finds out about this.”

There were many things that Kevin could have said to make Betty feel better in that moment but they all escaped from him when his dad walked in. He was still wearing his official Riverdale sheriff’s uniform and when his gaze met Kevin’s he just shook his head. This was going to be a very interesting ride home.

“Looks like my ride is here,” Kevin threw a cheeky grin over his shoulder to Betty. “See you tomorrow.”

His dad clamped a hand down on his shoulder, “Let’s go.”

The first few minutes in the car were silent. Kevin could almost imagine that his dad wasn’t upset at him and that he didn’t just have to pick him up from a police station. Imagine being called by the neighboring police force only to discover that is was because your son had been arrested for breaking and entering.

“I thought you were supposed to be studying with Betty, at least that was what you told me.”

“We took a little detour.”

His dad frowned, “how exactly did the two of you end up breaking into Baxter High? You two aren’t the type to do something like this. I can’t imagine what her mother is going to say when she finds out. Come on, Kev, what is going on with you?”

Kevin fought the urge to roll his eyes, “nothing, I’m fine.”

His dad let out a low sigh that meant the topic Kevin did not want to be talking about was coming up. “You’ve been acting out since your mom died, I know you have. I also know about you sneaking out during the summer. What were you doing Kevin? What was so secret that you couldn’t even tell me about it? It’s us against the world.”

“Dad, I really don’t want to talk about this right now.”

“Then when exactly do you want to talk about it?”

Never, Kevin thought. It was a childish wish but sometimes if Kevin tried really hard he could pretend that his mom was alive and just overseas. She was coming back, he promised himself. She said that she would never leave them alone but she had died and Kevin was never going to see her again or talk to her or anything else. His dad was great but it just wasn’t the same and he wasn’t sure he’d be ready for it.

“I don’t know,” Kevin mumbled and focused out the window to the passing houses as they got closer to home.

“We can’t keep going like this Kevin,” his dad said. “You need to talk to me or someone at least. A therapist might good.”

“I’m not going to see a therapist. I’m fine, everything is fine. You don’t need to worry about me because there is nothing to worry about. God, sometimes I wonder if you want to make this all about you and how good of a dad you are. I think that you would be a much better dad if you were just to leave me alone for a few seconds.”

A silence descended onto the car and that was when Kevin knew he’d probably said the wrong thing. There was just a lot of feelings churning around through him and he never knew what to do about it. He tried to pretend that they weren’t there most of the time and tried to distract himself with other things. Hot boys, doing stupid shit with friends, but whenever his dad tried to talk to him it all came out again.

“I… I think that we both need time to move forward,” his dad said as they finally pulled into their driveway. “You can’t going around doing things like this. You have be more responsible… Kevin, you are grounded until further notice. No more leaving the house after dark and no friends over.”

“Fine, whatever,” Kevin started to get out of the car.

“Kev,” his dad’s voice called out again. “Remember, no matter how bad it might seem right now there is always room for things to get better.”

Kevin didn’t respond, just shoved his hands into his pockets and tried not to slam the door as he entered the house. Yeah, things sure were getting better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I Just say I love Kevin? Thank you to anyone who reads this I appreciate it.


	19. Josie II

Josie walked in class after lunch feeling annoyed, it was about something outside of anyone’s control but she still didn’t like it. Somehow Valerie had gotten herself sick it was probably because of how stressed she had been. She’d assured Josie that she could perform on Friday but that still meant Josie had to find someone else to be her partner for the project that they had in class.

Josie liked for things to go a certain way and when that didn’t happen it could be infuriating. Some people were not the type that you worked with as they would have dragged her down. Valerie was used to her demands but also had enough backbone to call her out on any shit and Josie appreciated it. Unfortunately Valerie wasn’t here and Josie was probably going to end up stuck with someone else.

“Ok, everyone,” their teacher came to the front of the room. “We’ve talked about the project before, it’s in partners. You can choose whoever you want just make sure that they are a good choice to work with.”

Josie looked around trying to see if there was any else she could have worked with when Reggie Mantle stepped into view. He had a grin on his face and she felt nothing but irritation at seeing him. If he wanted to work together he was going to have to do a very good job at convincing her that it was a good idea.

“So are we doing this?”

“Is that you’re way of asking to be my partner?” Josie said frowning up at Reggie. “Because it sucks and I think you can do better.”

Reggie pulled out a chair and sat down next to Josie, “Who else are you gonna be partners with I think I’m the best you got at the moment.”

“Wow,” Josie said staring at Reggie. “Is that how you get people to date you?”

Reggie rolled his eyes but the hints of his cocky smile were still present on his face. He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back in the chair that he had taken. Josie wasn’t sure there was anything else that she could do about this. Maybe she could ask her teacher if it was possible to do the project on her own.

She doubted the Reggie wanted to work with her because he thought that she was smart or they would work well together. No all Reggie wanted was more opportunities to flirt with her which Josie was not and probably never would be interested in.

“Alright, Mantle, since I’m stuck with you than you better come up with some pretty good ideas or else this will not work out. I do not do well when things are not in perfect detail. Honestly do you even pay attention in this class or is every teacher just making sure that you pass because you’re a football player.”

“Hey,” Reggie put up his hands in a mock surrender. “I hold my own.”

“Yeah, but you guys can always get away with things,” Josie said leaning forward as if she was planning on sharing a secret with him. That piqued Reggie’s interest and he leaned forward as well.

“What are you talking about?”

“What happened with the seal yesterday; it’s interesting to see that none of you guys got into trouble for that.”

“That was the Southsiders,” Reggie said with a cold edge slipping into his voice. He was becoming defense and Josie took it as a telltale sign that he was lying. “It’s how they’ve always been and it is how they will always be. Why does everyone think we should out and play nice with the Serpents? That didn’t go very well for me last time.”

“What?” Josie said; the last part was muttered and was almost sure that she hadn’t heard him right.

Reggie frowned, “nothing, why do you care about this so much?”

“I just think that it’s awfully convenient that it was only you and the other Bulldogs were around.” Josie pulled back again and Reggie frowned at her as if he was just now beginning to realize what she had been doing. “There was only one Serpent and he seemed real pissed that something had happened.”

“He just didn’t like to be caught.”

Josie arched a brow, “people don’t like being accused of something that they didn’t do.”

“How do you think I feel?”

Josie almost wanted to laugh at Reggie’s statement. To her it seemed absolutely ridiculous as if half the school didn’t already know that he was a part of the spray painting of the seal. She had to wonder if it was one of those stupid Hell Week things that they did every year. If they were planning a new torment for the Serpents every day it certainly was going to be a long week and Josie wasn’t sure that she was ready for it.

“I think that you feel as if you are a big man on campus as if the whole world is going to bow at your feet. But let me tell you something, Mantle, those who peak in high school very rarely have good and successful lives after. So you better find some other way to spend your time or end up a failure that we all know you are destined to become.”

“This is turning out to be an interesting pairing,” Reggie said pulling out another smile. “And it’s interesting how you can call me out on living as if everyone should be focused on me when everyone knows that you think the Pussycats is God’s gift to earth.”

Josie was startled at his words but Reggie kept smiling unbothered. She would have loved to slap that smile off of his face but they were in class and there was only so much that she could do. She knew it wasn’t right to hate Valerie in that moment but if she was here then Josie would not have to deal with this asshole.

“Why don’t we stop talking about our personal opinions of each other and start talking about this project,” Josie said pulling out the assignment sheet. “The sooner we get this done and the sooner we can be far, far away from each other.”

Lord knows that Josie couldn’t wait for that day to come.


	20. Archie V

The waters of Sweetwater River were dark this time of night. The stars twinkled off the bobbing waves and Archie ran his hands across his bare arms. He really hated Hell Week. It was Thursday evening and they are already been through some crazy things. They’d had to run through the halls only in their underwear and cover the entire football field in plastic forks. This was supposed to be their finally torment and he was sure he was going to hate this most of all.

“Isn’t Sweetwater River usually freezing at night?” Marty said looking out across the wild river.

“That’s the point,” Reggie said with a laugh as he pulled his shirt over his head. They were being required to swim across Sweetwater in nothing but their underwear over the roughest section; Archie wasn’t sure this was gonna end well. “Come on, once we do this it’ll all be over and then we can just chill with the team and crap. Don’t be such pussies.”

“Come on, Reggie,” said Jason with a casual smile. “There’s no need for all that. But you three still need to get into the water. It’s not even that hard, we’ve all had to do it.”

Marty frowned, “not all of us are also on the water polo team.”

Chuck stepped forward; hands shoved into his pocket, looking unbothered as he observed the guys who stood in front of him. “We all know football is a physical game. So, it’s important that you are tough enough to be a Bulldog. This is just a simple way of testing that… but if you aren’t up to it that’s fine. You can leave as long as you agree to be off the team.”

“What?” Marty snapped.

“It’s only fair to everyone else.” Chuck smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. “Now, who’s getting in the water?”

“I’m going in,” Reggie said as he stepped towards the water. He clapped a hand on Archie’s shoulder that almost pushed him off balance. “Let’s go, Andrews.”

Archie really didn’t want to do this but if it was the only way that he was going to be able to stay on the team then he might as well do it. He took a deep breath as he walked over to Sweetwater, the dark waves beckoning him to come closer. He glanced back and noticed Marty was still standing in the same place as before, a look of irritation and possibly fear on his face although it was hard to tell.

“Suck it up. Spencer,” Reggie said before plunging into the freezing depths.

The water tore through him and Archie struggled to pay attention to anything besides the iciness surrounding him. His muscles burned and he was starting to lose feeling in his legs. Coming up for air on the other side he finally noticed the commotion that was going on at the other side of the river. Reggie shook his head and dived back in, but Archie looked across the river again.

Jason stepped forward; hands cupped around his mouth. “Marty… drowning… might be… find him!”

The distance might have made it hard, but Archie was sure that he was warning him that Marty might be down somewhere in the water. Archie looked up towards the sky, took a deep breath, and plunged in deep. The water was so cold that he fought to keep his eyes open, and everything was beginning to blur together.

 _Shit,_ was the only thing Archie could think when he saw Marty. His eyes were closed, and bubbles came out of his mouth. Archie propelled himself through the water, grabbing onto Marty so that he could pull him back to the surface. His muscles ached and Marty was heavier than expected Archie wasn’t sure if he could save him. Suddenly another person came into a view. Reggie grabbed one of Marty’s arms and together they swam him back to where the rest of the team was.

“What do we do?” one of the other player’s asked looking down at Marty.

Jason shoved him out of the way and went over. He started administering CPR and was efficient about it too. Archie recalled something about him being a lifeguard at some point, but he wasn’t sure if that was correct. Soon Marty coughed up water and rolled onto his side groaning.

“Well,” Chuck started. “Normally I might have said that Spencer was cut from the team, but since you guys came together to save him, showing important teamwork, I’d say you get another chance. I won’t make you swim anymore, so be grateful.”

Marty muttered something that Archie was sure was a curse, but Chuck had already walked away. Archie pulled his shirt back on and reached out to help Marty to his feet. Marty rolled his eyes and stood on his own.

“Is this the kind of bullshit they pull at Riverdale High,” Marty said running his hands through his wet hair. “I always heard the Northside was more disciplined and better than the Southside, or whatever. But it seems like no matter where you go someone is always going to be an asshole.”

Archie shrugged, “I guess. Chuck’s always been known for being intense, and then there’s the fact that his dad is the coach… I don’t know. Don’t worry about it too much, we’re Bulldogs now. Bulldogs always look out for each other.”

“Yeah… thanks,” Marty said. “For saving me.”

Archie nodded as he put his shoes back. “Well we are teammates and there is no way that I’m going to let one of my teammates drown.”

Marty laughed, “cool it, Andrews. Someone might think you like playing the saint. Can’t always be taking care of everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been really out of lately with school and moving. I don't know when I will get the chance to update but don't worry this fic isn't abandoned. Thanks so much for reading.


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